Across Worlds
by OokamiLover19
Summary: One girl must decide between the two worlds she's tied to. Stay in Soul Society as a shinigami and be executed or go to the Five Nations and become a shionbi that carries a jinchuuriki? Will she make the right choice and if she does, what happens when several Shinigami come after her, planning to kill her? Gaara X OC
1. Preface

Karin X Gaara (Bleach/Naruto Fanfiction) I don't own any characters created by Tite Kubo (Author of Bleach) or Masashi Kishimoto (Author of Naruto)

There I stood at the boundary of the two worlds. I was a Shinigami (death god) and Jinchiriki. I had one foot in Soul Society and one foot in the Shinobi world. I was hesitating even though of other Shinigami reached me I'd be dead. I didn't want to really leave my world and go to the other but I belonged in both places for what I was.

**Preface:**

I am Karin (no last name). I am ten years old and more advanced than any Shinigami in Soul Society. My black hair was cropped up to my chin, my face was round but slimming out as I grew, small straight nose, full red lips, tan skin and vibrant purple eyes. I stand about 4'10" and weight about 70lbs. I am in the Special Ops for my talent. I am a Jinchiriki and I have complete control over my three-tailed wolf, which everyone calls Okami. My Shunpo (flash step) is more high advanced cause I practically jump from one place to another (aka I can transport myself). I am also the only one who can jump worlds, there may be others who can, but i wouldn't know. People keep some things quiet.

**HEY EVERYONE, **

**I'M NEW TO THIS SITE AND NOT THE BEST WITH COMPUTERS. IF THERE ARE ANY ISSUES YOU HAVE WITH THIS STORY, ****PLEASE PM ME OR LET ME KNOW IN A REVIEW SO I CAN TRY TO FIX IT TO MAKE IT BETTER FOR YOU. ****MY USER NAME USED TO BE BARAKI'S PRIESTESS BUT DECIDED TO CHANGE IT BECAUSE BARAKI IS A CHARACTER IN ****ONE OF MY OWN STORIES AND MY OBSESSION WITH WOLVES HAVE INCREASED GREATLY.**

**-OOKAMILOVE19**


	2. Jumping

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**CHAPTER ONE: JUMPING**

"Captain, you called?" I stepped into Soi Fong's office. She was young but had quickly taken over when Yoruichi just vanished.

"Ah, yes, Karin, come here," she smiled.

"What did you need?"

"Are your duties finished?"

"Yes ma'am," I bowed.

"Okay, knowing you, you'll want something to do because you like to be kept busy, unlike anyone else in Soul Society. Go around to some of the squads and see if they need help."

"Yes, captain," I smiled then appeared at the 11th squad building.

"Go away, midget," a man with a moustache growled.

"I'm looking for Zaraki," I growled. "Back off."

"Karin, you're done with your duties already?" Zaraki Kempachi came out.

"Yes," I smiled, and then jumped up on his back next to his pink-haired lieutenant, Yachiru, who was younger than me.

We jumped through Soul Society and entered the training grounds. Zaraki was the only one who was willing to train with me and my beast. I always went to him when I had no duties.

I transformed into my beast and towered over Zaraki. He always had fun fighting me even if he never got me to bleed because he was careful. He always said that he went all out but he stayed at my level. A few hours later, I transformed back and looked at the 11th squad captain.

"Damn, still didn't bleed you," I growled. My goal was always to try and get him to bleed.

"Not yet, but you're getting better," he laughed.

"Yo, 'Chiriki," a man slurred, "goin' on killin' spree yet?"

I hated men like this. A lot of people called me various names of Jinchuuriki, and they were always insulting me. I growled and stabbed him with my zanpakto (soul slayer) which was a dagger with a dragon encrusted hilt. His eyes bulged as he fell to the ground lifeless.

I pulled my shortsword out of the corpse and wiped the blood on the man's cloak. I froze... White cloak of a captain or guard of General and my blood went cold. I looked at his face and realized that he was one of Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto's men.

"Oh shit…" I muttered as the alarms went up. General Yamamoto had already sensed the life force of a shinigami leave the city.

"Run Karin," Yachiru snapped as she pushed me towards an alley. I nodded jumped up onto the roof and started running towards the Sokyoku blades' alter. I summoned my energy and I felt the gate start to open. As I reached the hill, Kuchiki Byakuya was standing in front of my gate, his sword drawn.

I drew my own weapon and lunged. I couldn't let him see what world the gate was open to. He would probably go to the 12th squad and get Kurotsuchi Mayuri to get the gate open somehow. He blocked my shortsword and kicked me backwards.

I jumped to my feet and we circled around. His attention was all on me now and I felt my foot enter the gate. Byakuya froze as he saw me smirk. This is how I came to be standing with one foot in two worlds.

I had one foot in Soul Society and one foot in the Shinobi world. I was hesitating, knowing that if I was found I'd be killed instantly by Byakuya if he got close enough. There would be no trial for me. I heard yelliandante saw a few dozen Shinigami were coming towards me. I gave them one more smile and stepped backwards through my gate, entering other world.

* * *

><p>I landed in a desert and was slightly surprised that I didn't need a gigai and that I had a solid body. Every way I looked there was nothing but sand in the desert. I started heading west, running as if there was a pursuit behind me, the crunch of sand beneath my feet and my breathing were the only sounds I heard. As the sun set and I neared a forest, I saw a group of four masked men coming out of the trees and running towards me. I stopped and they finally stopped a few yards away. Each had a white mask with red markings and white cloaks.<p>

"Kid, what are you doing? What village are you from?" one asked. I saw silver hair poking out from under the hood.

"Village?" I perked up. "Where is a village? I have no clue where I am."

"Where are your parents?"

"Never had any, now where is a village?" I growled.

"Who are you?"

"Karin."

"Well Karin, we're on a mission right now so we must go."

"Wait, take me with you!" I exclaimed as they started to walk past me.

"Time is off the essence right now…"

"I promise not to slow you down but please don't leave me alone!"

"If you can keep up…"

"Captain, what are you thinking?" another masked man growled. "This is an S-ranked mission…"

"Isn't that dealing with criminals?" I asked. "I'm good at that kind of thing."

"You're a kid…" the captain snapped.

"So? Where I'm from, I was in the Special Ops."

"Captain, we must go!"

"Come, Karin if you can keep up."

They started running and I stayed caught up with the leader. The mission was to infiltrate a base and get info on what they were planning. As night fell, were deep in a forest and the masked men stopped to rest and I sighed. The captain showed me a map of the base and said that we were near it. I smiled and waited for them all to fall asleep.

Once they were out, I jumped through the trees silently, only the sound of the wind blowing the tree branches were heard. One man with a black cloak with red clouds stood at the entrance of a cave. I knocked him out with the dragon on my hilt. The dragon held a knock out poison that acted instantly. I took the cloak and walked inside. I stayed in the shadows and found my way to the main area of operations. There were a few men in the same cloaks and I walked around and saw scrolls open on a table. I laughed and started hitting the men with my hilt as I walked past. By the time I finished, no one had even realized what really happened since they were all passed out

I grabbed the scrolls and walked out. At the entrance, I took off the cloak and draped over the unconscious man. I jumped back through the trees and when I got to the camp, I sat in a tree and waited until morning to hand them over.

When morning came, I jumped down and laid the scrolls out for the masked men to look at. They read them then glared at me demanding to know how I got them. I explained everything and their glares turned into shock. We headed back the way we came and the captain said something about visiting a village on the way back.

At the village they called Suna or the Village Hidden in the Sand, one of the masked men stayed with me while the other three were inside the main building. I looked around and saw that this village was a peaceful village. The yelling of a few kids caught my attention and I followed the noise.

"Here comes the monster, run for your life!" one cried and they sprinted past me and my guard as a boy with red hair, hateful green eyes, and a tattoo on his forehead came into view around a building. On his back was a gourd. He looked at the running kids and glared at them.

I took a step forward the boy when the masked man gripped my upper arm. "I would not advise you to go near that boy. He is a very unstable and is a container for the Shukaku sand spirit. In that gourd is sand full of his power and he literally hates everyone."

"What? A Jinchuuriki?" I tried to pull out of his grip and he tightening his grip.

"Let's go," the captain spoke as he came out.

The man holding my arm released me and I since I had beeb struggling against his grip, I stumbled backwards and right into the boy. The four masked men froze and I gasped. The boy's eyes narrowed and I stumbled away a few feet and bowed. "S…sorry…"

Then I was tossed over one of the men's shoulders and they ran off.

...

...

...

...

...

...

..

**PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU READ THIS STORY! I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE READERS THINK!**

Sorry for anyone who doesn't like the fact that I created my own character to throw in there. I love the plots and different characters of Naruto and Bleach but didn't ever like writing fanfictions about them. It seemed weird to change my way of writing to make two characters act so different than what they should. I like the character's usual behavior and don't really want to change it.


	3. Marks and Tricks

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TWO: MARKS AND TRIKCS**

"Captain Kuchiki, what happened? Did you find the killer?" Abari Renji asked as he stood next to me on the hill of the Sokyuku Blade.

"No, she got away," I muttered as I put my sword away. "Secret Ops Karin has left this realm. Whatever she passed through was open to a vast desert."

"Well Captain Kurotsuchi might be able to help but General Yamamoto requires you to go to this office. Captain Kempachi is already there, apparently he saw what happened."

"Why didn't he stop her?" I spun on him.

"He said that she hit him in the side with the dragon of her zanpacto. You know the properties of that dragon's poison, it renders even the strongest unconscious."

"Yeah, that is a nasty poison to be hit by. You have the biggest hangover as if you drank the night away," I replied, remembering the time I had asked her to test the dragon on me.

We hurried to the General's building and entered his office. Zaraki Kempachi was slouched on a couch while his pink haired lieutenant, whose name I could never remember, stood at attention next to the couch. General Yamamoto was standing at his window that had a good view of the city and the Sokyuko Blade's hill.

"Captain Kuchiki, what did you find? I saw you fighting on the hill," the wizened old man turned to look at me. "Did Karin really disappear into thin air?"

"She had opened some kind of gate. I caught glimpses of a desert, but nothing else. I don't know why she would go there. I believe that she may return."

"We'll stay on alert. Do you have any thoughts?"

"My lieutenant suggested captain Kurotsuchi may be able to find a way to this world through his technology, but I'm sure that will take time."

The office door and the very person we had been talking about entered. His face had on the usual make-up and the weird hat. He smirked as he looked around.

"My, my, my, found yourself in a prediciment?" his voice make shivers go up my spine.

"Are you able to open gates to other worlds?" General Yamamoto asked as he sat down at his desk.

"Yes, but why not use that gate to get to the living world?"

"Karin entered a unknown world. We cant use that gate," I spoke coldly. "Can you do it?"

"Yes, but it will take a few years give or take." Mayuri's smile faded. "It takes time to get the supplies I need together and make the gate. Then I must do tests and find her reiryoku or the energy of her wolf."

"Get to work immediately, I want that gate up as soon as possible," General Yamamoto hissed. "She doesn't get a free slip for killing one of my men.

* * *

><p>"What happened in Suna?" the captain demanded.<p>

"Ask him," I growled pointing at the man who had been watching me. "He's the one who made me stumble."

"She started walking towards the Jinchuuriki and I pulled her back, advising against it. She was trying to pull out of my grip. When yoi came out, I released her then she ran into him," the man explained.

"Is this true?"

I sighed and looked at the one that was captain. "Why are people so judgmental? I received the same abuse back home…"

"What do you mean?"

"I have a wolf spirit inside of me. That's how I got to be in the Special Ops. Everyone thought I'd lose control, even though I trained for 10 hours a day every day for the past four and a half years," I muttered, looking down.

"You're like that boy?" the captain gasped.

"Yes, but unlike him, I have every ounce of control."

"Oh, okay."

"You know something? I think you are the first person to say something nice to that boy and mean it," one of the other men laughed.

"Do you know what people like us go through? I was used as a weapon, like a brand new toy," I growled.

"Please calm down Karin."

"Okami won't come out," I laughed. "I told you that I have control. It doesn't come out unless I want it to. A perk I have thankfully is that I can change my size at will when transformed."

"May we see it then?"

I blinked then nodded. I backed away a few yards and transformed then walked to them. I was barely taller than them. I sat on my haunches and laughed at their bulging eyes. My fur was black with purple marks on my front legs and face. My three tails looked like they were dipped in purple cause only the tips were purple. I transformed back and smirked.

"Wow…I thought only the only three tails was the Sanbi…" the captain gasped.

"Wasn't there some legend about a lost tailed beast?"

"Guess it wasn't truly lost…"

"Have you ever lost control?"

"In the beginning…yes... It took three years to finally be able to lock the wolf away and be able to use its power. Why?"

"We have a nine-tailed Kitsune that doesn't know that the beast is in him because it was sealed by a powerful Shinobi."

"How many tails is the Shukaku?" I looked at them.

"It is a one-tailed beast."

After we finished talking, the captain decided that we shouldn't stop and hurry to the village Konoha. They took me to the main building and up to see the leader over the village which they called their Hokage. In the office, there was an old man sitting at the desk looking at scrolls.

"Hatake, who is this? I thought you were on a mission?" the old man was confused.

"We found her on our way and she practically begged to come with. We told her the situation of the mission and while we rested, she snuck off into the base. She knocked 8 Akatsuki unconscious and brought back all the information we needed. She said she was on a Special Ops team where she was from but wouldn't say were."

"O-okay," the old man was in shock.

"There's something else… she is the three-tailed wolf legend said was lost long ago. She even showed us since she has control over it," the captain finished.

The old man Hokage blinked and looked at me. I smiled at his reaction and the room went quiet as the man processed what ANBU had said. I leaned against a wall and waited for him to say something.

"The Okami…? Do you have some kind of seal on it?"

"No need," I sighed.

"Any marks from the beast?"

I undid my outer tunic and revealed a tub top that all Special Op females wore. I shifted the tunic and showed him a mark on the side of my neck. Every person in the room gasped as they studied the mark. In black, the kanji for wolf was inside of a black crescent moon. I rolled my eyes and laughed inwardly at their reactions.

"I was told that you had someone like me, what do they look like?" I asked.

I heard giggling and saw some kid on a rope, painting the windows of the office. I walked to the window and looked at him. He stopped swinging and looked at me surprised. Across his cheeks were the likeness of whiskers and he had bright yellow hair and blue eyes.

"You're looking at him. That is Uzumaki Naruto, no family since he was born. He is always getting in sometime of trouble," the Hokage groaned.

I looked down into the streets and saw a man yelling at the kid. He had black hair, a scar across the bridge of his nose and across his forehead was a head protector. The boy, Naruto, stuck out his tongue then disappeared up the rope.

"He looks your age."

"I'm ten," I whispered, looking up at the blue sky.

"Oh, then he's a year older. He'll become a Genin soon if he can past the tests."

"Genin? What's that?" I looked at the man.

"It's a level in becoming a Shinobi or in simpler terms a ninja. It's the lowest of three levels, Chunin is the next then Jounin is the final level."

"What are they?" I pointed at the masked men.

"ANBU Black Ops. They are select individuals who are Jounin now and excelled beyond everyone else in the village."

"No females?"

"There are a select few, but most women decide to have families."

I nodded and felt tired.

"Would you like to stay here in Konoha? The ANBU would like to work with you and Naruto might need help if his beast ever wakes."

"He's 11 and the seal hasn't weakened at all? That Shinobi who sealed the beast inside him must have been very powerful then."

"Yes, he was. He was the late fourth Hokage. He died twelve years ago and I had to take my old position again. Hatake, would you take her in, since she is probably still confused."

"Yes," the masked captain bowed.

"Wait, what is your name? I should have asked that first," the Hokage laughed.

"Karin."

"Okay, I'll see ya soon, Karin."

I bowed then followed the ANBU out. In the streets, the three other ANBU left and I followed the captain named Hatake down the streets. People stared at us as we walked and there was a wind, blowing my tunic around since I never retied it. Hatake took me to a spacious field where there were masked ANBU training all over.

Many were sparing hand-to-hand combat while othes sparred with kunai or longswords. I was led to an empty space and Hatake pulled out his kunai.

"I want to see your abilities with weapons," he spoke.

I slid off my tunic top and drew my zanpakto and took a defensive position across from Hatake. He attacked and I blocked easily. I smiled and let him be on offense for a bit 'til I heard his breathing a little faster than normal. I switched to offense and pushed him across the field. ANBU jumped out of our way as we went across the field and they watched the fight.

We got a few wounds on each other, none of them were deep, but still bled a fair amount. Finally, Hatake yielded and sagged against a tree while applause came from behind me. I turned and saw every masked man and few women clapping.

"Where'd you learn to fight?" an ANBU hurried over and handed me my tunic.

"Thanks… a man who took the title of Kempachi taught me and helped me train my beast. No matter how hard I hit his flesh with my weapons, I could never cut him. He was a ruthless killer and loved to fight, but he was a great teacher," I smiled. "My weapon wasn't even active during this fight."

"What do you mean?" another asked.

"My dagger has three stages." I laid the flat of my dagger against my forearm, point towards my fingers and called out its name. "Break and slice Ryumotsu." Then dragon uncurled around the hilt then moved to wrap arounf my wrist while the blade fractured and became miniature daggers that were about two inches long and there were hundreds of them. "Bankai." All the daggers fractured again and stretched to the size of a long sword and created a dome around the entire field. The dragon lifted its head and let out a ear-piercing cry and the swords sparked and were engulfed in flame. "Return Ryumotsu."

"How'd you get a weapon like that?" Hatake demanded.

"From my home," I sighed. "What you need to understand is that I'm from a completely different world. Where I'm from, I'm called a Shinigami or Death God. We kill monsters that very few can see. They have white masks and a hole in their chests. Our weapons called Zanpakto or soul slayers take on the best abilities that each Shinigami has. Mine is power and range.

"Do you know what chakra is?" I raised an eyebrow at Hatake. "Spiritual energy that you can create."

"Oh, yeah… we have a different name for it. We call it our Reiryoku but it's very... I'm not exactly sure how to describe it except dangerous."

"Care to demonstrate?" an ANBU perked up.

"Sure…" I turned towards the trees and all the ANBU cleared. "Hado 31: Shakkaho!" a red ball of fire came to my palm and shot into the trees destroying a half mile of the forest.

I turned around and a few ANBU fell backwards in surprise as the rest turned to look at me. I smiled and wanted to laugh. I saw Hatake make a hand movement and all the ANBU created a large circle. I looked at him and sighed; I knew this technique. I threw my tunic at Hatake and it hit him in the face and I heard a few chuckles.

"I want to see your endurance with only hand combat," Hatake laughed putting the tunic on a rock.

I took off my sheath and tossed my dagger to Hatake then walked into the circle. Ten of the ANBU stepped forward and I wanted to roll my eyes. I motioned them forward and they attacked. For the next couple hours, I fought the ANB.

I got hit multiple times and knew that i would hurt later. Finally, I got a blow to the chest and I fell. I sat up slowly as I restarted my lungs from getting the wind knocked out of me.

The man, who knocked me down, came to my side and helped me stand up. I smiled and took the water that someone else had offered me. There was a single clap that echoed the field and I looked over and saw the old man Hokage.

"Never have I seen someone with your skill level, Karin. You have downed 80% of the ANBU in one day," he laughed amazed.

"Lord Sarutobi," all the ANBU spoke in allusion while bowing.

"What do you think? Think we could bring Karin in?"

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review**


	4. School

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER THREE: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL**

"A child?" Hatake came closer, surprised.

"Who have you seen ever be able to been one ANBU while she defeats 80 and beats the great Copy ninja Hatake?" Sarutobi turned on Hatake. "Give her a spot, but we'll keep her with the kids so she can learn of our ways. Also, that way she can be close to Naruto and gain his trust. What do you think Karin?"

"Thank you Lord Sarutobi," I bowed while smiling.

"Hatake take her to your place. I'll have some money sent so she can get some new clothes."

Hatake nodded and motioned me to follow. I grabbed my sword and slid my arms into my tunic sleeves while running to catch up. We walked quickly through the village to a set of apartments and he unlocked a door and went in. I walked into a living room while he disappeared into another room. There was a pile of books on the table 'Icha Icha.' I laughed and looked around.

The apartment was small; a living room/kitchen, a closet, a bathroom, and I assumed that the room that Hatake had gone into was his bedroom. He came out moments later without the white mask. In its place was a black cloth that covered the lower part of his face. His hair was silvery white and across a red eye was a scar. His other eye was blue. I sat on the couch and closed my eyes, feeling the exhaustion take over and I fell asleep.

**Kakashi's Point of View**

Karin seemed tinier than she actually was as she curled up into a ball on the couch. I covered her with a blanket then went and got something to eat. There was a knock on the door as I was putting my dishes in the sink and I sighed. A box and a small bag rested on the doorstep. There was a note saying that they were for Karin so I put them on the table in front of her and picked up 'Icha Icha' and sat down on the other side of the couch.

**Karin's Point of View**

When I opened my eyes, I found myself looking at a box and bag full of money in front of me on the table. I sat up and opened the box and found an ANBU mask and uniform. I stood up and saw a blanket fall to the floor by my feet. I looked around and saw Hatake on the couch reading his books.

"Why do you read them?" I sighed.

He jumped a little and looked at me. "What?"

"Why do you read them? They're porn..."

"You've read them?" he narrowed his eyes.

"No, but I've heard many things about books like that."

"We should get you some clothes before the stores close," he spoke ignoring my question and stood up. He hurried into his room and came out with a head protector covering his red eye. He grabbed the money bag and waited as I fixed my tunic. "You ready?"

"Yes, Hatake let's go."

"Call me Kakashi. Hatake is my last name and used for ANBU purposes."

"Okay, Kakashi," I smiled and followed him out.

Kakashi let the way to the stores and I picked out some outfits that I would be able to move easily in if I had to fight. We bought the clothes and then headed back to Kakashi's place. I put the bags in an empty corner with the ANBU uniform then sat on the couch.

"Kakashi?" I called as he started to walk to his room.

"Yes Karin?" he looked at me.

"Why do you cover your face all the time?"

"Habit mostly. I've been in ANBU for a few years now," he chuckled.

"What about that eye? What is it?"

He came over and sat next to me. "When I was young, my team and I were on a mission. One of my team mates, Obito got caught under a rock while I was attacked and my eye was ruined. My other team mate, Rin, was a medical ninja. Obito told her to transfer his surviving eye to me knowing that he would never leave that place alive. Rin operated quickly before Obito died. I don't show it often cause with the Sharingan eye, it has a sharper vision and gives me a headache some times.

"Oh," I studied it. "What does it do?"

"Sharingan means Copy Wheel eye, so when I'm in a battle and I reveal it then I could copy _**all **_my opponent's moves. Another thing is when someone is using chakra, I can see what most cannot."

"Okay," I whispered, lying down. "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome. Tomorrow, I'll take you over to the school and help you get enrolled."

* * *

><p>The next day when I opened my eyes, the apartment was silent. I grabbed the first outfit I could find and hurried to the bathroom. I showered quickly then looked at the clothes. I pulled on my tube top and booty shorts then pulled on a pair of fishnet leggings. The tunic the same shade of purple as my eyes and it went to my knees with slits to my waist. I gathered up my Shinigami uniform, folded it then carried it out to the living room. I put the uniform in an empty bag and was strapping my dagger to my thigh when Kakashi came in.<p>

"You won't need that," Kakashi spoke, yawning through the mask.

"I never leave Ryumotsu behind. It is an extension of my soul, so to speak. That's the easiest way someone could really understand," I growled.

"Okay, come eat then we'll go."

I at some cereal then pulled on knee high black leather boots. Kakashi locked the door behind him and we were on our way. I heard the school from the rowdy children way before I saw it. Kakashi led me to a room on the second level and into a classroom where Naruto was giggling.

"Iruka, someone is here!" a blond girl exclaimed.

"Kakashi, what's wrong?" the man with the scar across his nose frowned.

"Does there always have to be something wrong for me to visit?" Kakashi spoke innocently.

"When it's during class…yes."

"I need to talk to you, privately. Come Karin." Every student stared at me as I followed the men out.

"Who is she?" Iruka looked at me.

"Karin, she is the child ANBU found the other day. Sarutobi wants her to learn the way of the Shinobi. She is already a good fighter, but knows little of our type of chakra techniques. She is also almost exactly like Naruto with tailed beasts," Kakashi smiled putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Okay, good thing the year just started. Come on Karin."

"Bye Kakashi," I smiled as Iruka led me into the classroom.

"Class, settle down, we have new student. This is Karin," Iruka smiled.

"Look at her eyes," the blond girl giggled.

"Ino, be nice," a pink-haired girl whispered.

"Karin, how about you go sit next to Shikamaru and Naruto. Maybe you can keep them in line by threats with that weapon of yours."

Every pair of eyes widened and stared at my dagger. I kept a smile in place and walked up the aisle to the last row of desks. Someone stuck out their foot, hopping to trip me but I used Shunpo and appeared at the back of the class. I sat next to Naruto and a boy who was asleep on the desk.

"Nice reflex," Naruto smiled, clueless.

"Thanks."

The morning went by fast and at lunch time, I stayed in the class and watched the kids play. The pink-haired girl and Ino were giggling and were whispering to each other as they were staring at a biy who had black hair. I looked around for Naruto and found him alone on a swing as he watched everybody interact.

"Karin, why are you not taking a break?" Iruka came in.

"I don't take breaks. Why is Naruto so sad?"

"Everyone shuns him because almost everybody knows what is in him. The adults were there when the Kitsune raged before being sealed into him. The adults' anger and fear have transferred over to their children because they just watch how they act around him. He has an idea of what's inside him but I could be wrong."

"That's why he's always getting into trouble, isn't it? He wants people to acknowledge him," I whispered.

"When did you learn about yours?"

"It emerged from me when I was barely four. From that day on, I trained hard and long to get control of my wolf. I finally got control when I was seven."

"Where are you from anyway?"

"A different world…" I drew my dagger and looked at the dragon on the hilt. It had a red hue, which meant Soul Society was still on alert to look for me. I sighed and sheathed it. "That technique I did before class…I can do a larger version of it and can jump worlds unlike my people."

"Why'd you come here?"

"I couldn't stay there unless I wanted to be killed."

"What happened?"

"Why does it matter?" I looked at him.

"I want to know if my students, colleagues, teachers and everyone else are in danger because of you. Will your people come looking for you?"

"No, I'm the only one who could use such an advanced version of Shunpo that I know of. Your world is safe from my people. If they ever were able to get here, I would lead themsomewhere else, but that chance is very unlikely.

"Okay," he breathed as students came back in.

The next day went by slowly and durning lunch, I went out to the courtyard where the other kids played. I saw Naruto on the swing and walked over to him and leaned against the tree. He looked at me and I saw surprise in his eyes.

"What do you want?" he whispered.

"You looked lonely," I replied. "I thought that since neither of us have friends that we could become each other's friends."

"Really?" he smiled and I nodded.

For the rest of the lunch hour, we talked about ourselves. I learned that he was a very talkative kid and didn't really shut up when someone was paying attention. I was okay with that and when we went back to class, we walked together. 

* * *

><p>Over the next few months, we talked then started to hang out after school. The village noticed the decline of the hyper-active child and nights became louder at night but I barely noticed. My schedule was too full to join them. School in the day and training with ANBU at night, my sleep hours were from midnight to 8am.<p>

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	5. Messed Up Missions

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER FOUR: MESSED UP MISSIONS**

**ONE YEAR LATER:**

"Karin, why are you not with Team 7?" Sarutobi called when I entered the office.

"Kakashi told me to come in a few days because it was just an escort mission. I came to tell you that I was leaving right now," I smiled then jumped out the window, using Shunpo to appear at the village.

When I reached the house Tazuna was told to be staying, walls were broken and a woman was unconscious on the dock. A small boy was crying and trying to drag her back to the house from the dock, so I assumed the woman was his mother. I carried her inside and laid her on the bed.

"Boy, where is the team that escorted the bride-builder here?" I demanded.

"They're on the bridge," the boy whimpered.

"Thank you," I smiled then ran out of the house growling.

I ran through the village, tempted to transform, but that would have caused a lot more commotion than needed. As I reached the bridge, it was covered in mist. I followed Naruto and Sasuke's voice to a dome of ice mirrors.

"Really…you're a burden…all the time…" Sasuke's voice shook.

"You did it Sasuke…!" Naruto's voice trailed off.

I looked through a gap and Sasuke was standing in front of Naruto looking at a boy with an ANBU mask. I assessed the situation and frowned. What had happened while I was at the Leaf? Sasuke was bleeding with needles everywhere. Naruto had some needles in him but not as critical.

"Look at yourself…you idiot…" Sasuke forced out.

"W…why…? You protected me…"

"Who…knows…?" he trailed off for a minute and his eyes glazed over. "I hated…you."

"Why? Why!" Naruto stood up. "Why did you protect me…? I didn't ask you to!"

I saw tears fall from Naruto and tears threatened to fall down Sasuke's face.

"Who knows…my body moved of its own accord, idiot…" Sasuke started falling and Naruto caught him and lowered him to the ground and held him close.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried.

"That man…I didn't want to die until I killed my brother… you…don't die." Then Sasuke's body went limp.

Naruto pulled his comrade closer as tears welled up. The ANBU boy stood up and looked at the boys.

"He was able to jump into a trap to protect someone important. He's a ninja worthy of respect. Is this the first time you've seen a friend die? That is the path of a ninja," the boy spoke softly before stepping into a mirror.

"Shut up…" Naruto lowered Sasuke's body to the ground. "I hated you, too…" Naruto whispered to Sasuke.

Smoke rose and spun in a circle around Naruto. I froze as I realized what was happening. I couldn't move. I wasn't able to go to the boy to stop the seal from weakening.

"You will pay…" Naruto growled as red chakra shot up into the top of the dome. "I'll kill you!"

Naruto was in a feral crouch position over Sasuke's body. His face was changing. The chakra formed into a Kitsune above his head and the needles shot out of his body. I finally got my body to move and I scrambled into the dome.

"Naruto, NO!"

As I reached him, the red chakra fox jumped around the dome and hit me square in the chest. I was flung out of the dome and against the bridge side, getting knocked unconscious from the impact.

* * *

><p>"Captain Kurotsuchi, what is your progress?" the aristocratic icicle, Kuchiki Byakuya, came into my lab.<p>

"I just barely got all the materials I needed to start building the gate. This takes time Byakuya, especially since I'm the only one who can build this machine. The tests and finding where Karin's reiryoku is coming from. We don't want someone to go through and find them cooked like a chicken for the vultures or find themselves suffocating in space," I smirked, thoughts of seeing Byakuya in either of those two situations coming to mind.

"Just get it done, Captain Kurotsuchi, I'll be returning soon to make sure your working."

"I have no doubt about that," I muttered after Byakuya left. "Nemu, get out of there and come work on cateloging these files so I can work on the machine to the Byakuya out of my hair."

"Yes sir," my daughter came out and sat at the computer.

* * *

><p>The mist started to clear when I opened my eyes and stood up. I looked around and saw Kakashi's Chidori going into the boy as he stood in front of a man with a large sword, who took advantage of that and drew his sword and swung at Kakashi. Kakashi appeared a few feet away and laid the boy's body on the ground and Naruto started to run towards the fight, but I grabbed his arm.<p>

"Naruto!" Sakura called.

Naruto's face fell.

"Where's Sasuke?" she called and Naruto looked away from her.

Understanding his unspoken motion, Sakura ran past us towards Sasuke's body, pulling the bridge-builder with her.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whimpered.

I held Naruto's arm as Sakura's cries reached us. With his other hand, Naruto clutched his shirt as he tried to not cry. I remained solemn and silent, letting the Genin process what happened even though I knew something they did not. Sasuke's heart was barely beating and he was alive. I watched the fight and the rouge ninja was slowing down.

That's when they appeared; a short man in a suit was on the edge of the bridge with a whole bunch of men, as Kakashi rammed two kunai into his enemy's uninjured arm. I released Naruto and walked past everyone, even Sakura and sighed. I really didn't need to see this fight. It would be over quickly anyway. Naruto's beast was silent inside of him since the outburst so I wasn't worried.

"Bastard! What the hell are you doing?" Naruto shrieked and I closed my eyes and stopped walking.

"Stop, don't move so recklessly," Kakashi growled.

"Why don't you say something, too? He was on your side, right?"

"Haku is dead, boy," the man growled.

"You really don't feel anything about what he did? You were with him for a long time, right?"

"I was just using the boy. I said this before, we ninja are just tools. I have no regrets." The man spoke emotionless.

"Do you really mean that?" Naruto growled.

"Stop Naruto, we don't have to fight him anymore," Kakashi sighed. "Besides…"

"Shut up! He's still my enemy! He…he really liked you. And you really don't think anything of him? When a person becomes strong as you, do they start to think like that…?" Naruto's voice became thick of sadness. "He…he sacrificed his life for you! He couldn't even see his own dream… Dying as a tool…is just…too painful…"

I smiled at Naruto's stubbornness that he always had.

"Kid…" their former enemy whispered, "don't say anymore…Haku…Not only did he hurt his heart to fight me, but he hurt his heart for you guys. I know. He was too kind. I'm glad we were able to fight you as your final opponents. Oh yes…kid it was just like you said. Ninja are human, too. They might not be able to become a tool without emotions. I lose. Kid, give me your knife."

I jumped to the end of the bridge and saw the boy I helped earlier. He had a pot tied to his head and held a crossbow in his hands.

"Tell my team, if they ask, that I'll be back in Konoha," I smiled before I started running. Villagers were coming out of their houses with weapons.

Once I was out of the village, I opened the gate to Soul Society, needing to talk to Zaraki. I had been a tool too so I knew how the boy, Haku, felt. He was making someone else happy. I also knew how Naruto felt, being used as a weapon was wrong.

I looked out at my old home as tears leaked down my cheeks. It looked like they were giving up on me since there were no alarms on and the red hue around my shortsword was gone. I found Zaraki sitting on the roof of his squad building and I transformed into a cub-sized wolf that was two feet high. I jumped across the roofs and landed next to him.

"You shouldn't be here. They'll kill you," he whispered, recognizing me instantly.

"_I know,"_ I thought to him. _"I came to say goodbye properly, Zaraki. I want to thank you for putting up with me and training me. I will miss you."_

"Bye, Neko," he smiled as he said the nickname he had given me.

I licked his hand before going back to the Shinobi world. I changed into my human form and hurried to the village. I walked to the Hokage's office, wanting to ask him something.

"Karin, where's your squad?"

"They're fine, I hurried ahead. I was wondering if there was an apartment I could get so I'm not taking over Kakashi's space?"

"Yes," He rummaged in his desk and pulled out a key, "I've had room 7b empty for when you finally asked me about living space. It's in the same complex as Kakashi's."

"Thank you," I smiled then left.

'_I never told them that Sasuke was alive… I could hear his heartbeat… Why did I stay silent and let them think he was dead?'_

'_**Cause they need to learn how it feels to lose someone close to them!' **_my beast growled.

'_Go away you insufferable beast!' _I snapped.

'_**Fine, but I was just answering your question.'**_

I grabbed my belongings from Kakashi's apartment and walked to my new apartment. I put the clothes in the dresser and the money on the desk. There was still a lot of money left so I'd be able to get by for a while. I left the main door unlocked and laid on the bed.

**Kakashi's Point of View**

"Where's Karin? She was here during the battle," Naruto asked, looking around.

I looked around the finished bridge, confused. I never realized she was not there. Sakura and Sasuke were sitting on a beam, waiting for us, ready to leave.

"Tazuna, have you seen our other companion?" Naruto asked the bridge-builder.

"That girl with the unusual eyes? She was leaving when you were scolding Zabuza about Haku being more than a tool," the old bridge-builder sighed.

"She left the village," Inari spoke, walking over to us. "She told me she'd meet back your village. She looked rather distressed when I talked to her."

"Thanks. Sakura, Sasuke, let's go," I ordered and we left with a village cheering behind us.

* * *

><p>At the village, I ran to my apartment and all of Karin's things were gone. I hurried to the Kage building and entered Sarutobi's office.<p>

"Kakashi, what is it?" the old man looked up from his papers.

"Please tell me you have seen Karin," I growled.

"Yes, a week ago actually, she's in her own place now. Apartment 7B as I recall. I think she was rather unhappy about something. She had been crying."

"Thanks," I bowed then left.

I ran across the village to the apartment complex and found 7B. I tried the door and it was unlocked. I walked in quietly and looked into the bedroom. Karin's small form was in a loose fetal position on the bed. There were tears on her cheeks and her complexion was very pale and her breathing was shallow.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	6. Control

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**I have many chapters already written so don't worry, it won't be stopping for a while.**

**...**

**CHAPTER FIVE: CONTROL**

I leaned over the bed and shook her to wake her.

No response.

I checked her pulse and it was very rapid.

I pulled her into my arms and ran to the hospital. A doctor came out of the hallway and saw Karin in my arms. He took her from me and ran to the ER and the medics got to work. I wasn't allowed to being in the operating room so I sat in the waiting area, unable to do anything except worry and stare at the wall.

"Kakashi?" a doctor came out. "She's stable, but is unconscious. Her body has been depleted of energy so I'm assuming that she hasn't eaten in a while and crying may have contributed to that. Also, we found a severe wound on the back of her head. Did she get hurt during your latest mission?"

"I don't know, I never really saw her but Naruto said that he did during a battle, but she was fine at that time. That was a week ago," I breathed.

"You can go see her, since she's on your team, but be careful. She is still a child no matter her power and she's fragile."

I walked down the hall to Karin's room and went inside. Her skin was still pale but had a flush to it. There was an IV bag hanging above her that went down into an IV in her hand. I sighed relieved and sat down in the chair next to her bed. Hours later when she stirred, I grabbed a nurse and the rest of the team came in.

"What happened?" Naruto whined as he watched the nurse checked Karin's vitals.

"I got hurt during the battle and once I knew I wasn't needed, I left. I had to talk to someone then I came back to the village," she spoke as the nurse left to record numbers.

"What of Sasuke…? You could have tried to help…"

"I knew he wasn't dead Sakura. I didn't say anything because if you learn what it is like to lose some one, you'll fight harder to protect them," she interrupted. "I'm assuming the mission when well; I haven't seen you for a few days…"

"You left a week ago," I snapped and her eyes widened. "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, go wait in the lobby. I'll be there in a sec and we'll go get some ramen."

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed and started singing as he bounced out of the room. Sakura and Sasuke followed silently.

"Where you at the bridge when his seal weakened?"

"Yes, he was angered because he thought Sasuke was dead. I tried to get close and reseal the Kyuubi but the chakra attacked me. That's why I got my head injury, I was thrown against the bridge wall. I failed to keep the fox in…" she muttered.

"There was nothing you could have done," I whispered.

"Yeah right… I could have killed Haku. If I had acted sooner and not watched the fight, it wouldn't have happened. Hell, if I had just come with you from the beginning…"

"Enough!" I growled. "It's over and done with. There is nothing we can do now except be careful."

The nurse came in and checked Karin's vitals again before pulling out the IV.

"You can leave any time," the nurse smiled then walked back out.

I left so she could get dressed and walked out to the rest of the team. They stood up, excited as soon as they saw me. Karin came out, signed a few papers that the doctors gave her then walked past us, saying something about not being hungry. I wanted to order her to come but knew that she needed some time to recover.

**Karin's Point of View**

I hurried home and changed into actual clothes not the t-shirt and shorts that I had been in before. I slid on a long-sleeved blue tunic and black pants. Then I slid on the green Jounin vest and strapped my dagger to my thigh. I needed something to do so I went to the front gate and relieved the Shinobi on duty so they could go eat.

After sitting by the gate for a while, I saw a few Genin coming towards me. I stood up and blocked their way into the village since they were sand Shinobi. As they got closer, I recognized the Sand Jinchuuriki.

"Papers?" I spoke, making them stop.

"Get out of our way midget," the one with purple make-up growled. He was a head taller than me and had something strapped to his back. He tried to push past me but I laughed and attacked.

In seconds, instead of him pushing me, I was sitting top of the weird thing on his back with my dagger to his throat. "Don't underestimate the leaf Shinobi. I am a Jounin."

The sand Jinchuuriki was watching me, his face expressionless while his other teammate pulled a giant fan off her back. She was about to attack when the boy spoke.

"Who are you?" he growled. "You seem familiar."

"You remember me?" I cocked my head to the side. "I'm surprised; it's been over a year since I stumbled into you."

"Why were you with Leaf ANBU back then?"

"Because they found me in the desert, I didn't know where I was since I couldn't remember anything," I lied. "I am sorry for running into you when I was there."

I got off the boy and he stood up, glaring.

"Temari, Kankuro, go ahead," the boy snapped.

"Do you have papers?" I snapped. "Even if you are here for the exams, you follow regulations." The girl pulled out a piece of paper and I smiled, "Thank you."

She pulled the boy with her into the village. I suppressed the urge to stick my tongue out at the boy who was still giving me a death glare and turned to the Jinchuuriki. He took a few steps closer and I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Why did you apologize?" he asked voice empty. "I'm sure your _precious_ ANBU said something about me."

"So what?" I growled. "Being a host isn't easy, but it gets better over time as people start to accept you."

"What do _you_ know about hosts?" he growled.

"I am Karin, three-tailed Okami."

"Prove it," he snapped, eyes narrowing.

I smirked and transformed into my wolf. I made my size smaller so I was a few inches taller than him. I laughed at him as his eyes widened and I transformed back.

"I can change my size as I please which is always convenient."

"You have full control…how?"

"It emerged when I was barely four. I was already learning to fight then and my sensei helped me gain control. What about you?"

"I'm working on control. It arises when I lose consciousness," he spoke, voice empty again. "I need to go; maybe we'll see each other again."

"What's your name?" I smiled.

"Gaara," he spoke as he walked past.

I stayed near the gate for a while longer and had a few more teams come into the village. After an hour or so, the gate Shinobi came back and I left. I wandered the village and found myself in an alley where Gaara's team, Team 7, and Konohamaru and his teammates were arguing. Sasuke was standing in a tree, bouncing a pebble in his palm. I used Shunpo and landed in the tree on the other side of the trunk of Sasuke. The boy, Kankuro, was furious and holding his hand as if he hurt it or something.

"Oi, what do you want?" Kankuro looked at me infuriated as he started to pull off the thing on his back.

"Kankuro, stop, you're a disgrace to our village." A voice rolled from right beside me. I turned my head slightly and saw Gaara standing upside-down right next to me.

"G-Gaara…" Kankuro stuttered. He was afraid and from the looks of it, so was Temari.

"Why do you think we came all the way to Konoha?"

"But these brats… They started it."

"Shut up. I'll kill you." Gaara's eyes narrowed. I was surprised at how much they feared the boy next to me.

"I was at fault. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Kankuro stumbled over his words.

"Excuse them, you guys." He looked around the alley and his gaze ended on me then he disappeared from the tree and appeared next to his teammates. "Let's go, we didn't come here to fool around."

"I know," Kankuro snapped.

"Wait up," Sasuke demanded.

Knowing where this was going, I sighed and disappeared from the alley. I hurried to the Kage office since I was told there was a meeting for Jounin and walked up to Sarutobi's office. I walked to the front and stood next to Kakashi, but the meeting was almost over since I had delayed with the Genin. As they were dismissed, I started to follow.

"Karin," Sarutobi called.

I turned around. "Yes Lord Hokage?"

"During the exams, I want you to be in uniform and be a guard with each proctor. I'm putting you on active ANBU duty."

"But that's taking extreme measures, isn't it?" I gasped.

"I have two Jinchuuriki, who don't have much control like you, in my village."

"Very well," I sighed, bowing then I left.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	7. ANBU Missions

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER SIX: ANBU MISSION**

At my apartment I went to the closet and pulled out my uniform. I slid on the pants and undershirt, which were both black. As I was sliding on the long gloves, there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I called through the wood.

"Kakashi, open the door Karin," came the voice of an irritated Kakashi.

I opened it and he stood there with a black back at his side. "What's up?"

"Sarutobi sent me over. May I come it?"

I stepped back and closed the door behind him. I walked back into my room and slid on the white vest. Then I walked back out with my dagger, mask and shoes.

"Why'd he send you over?"

"He was concerned that people would ask questions about you unless you had the ANBU marks. So…he told me to come give them to you."

"Okay," I smiled, sitting on the table.

He placed his bag on the table and brought out a tattoo gun. I fought the urge to sigh as I put my mask and dagger on the table. Kakashi got to work on the space between the gloves and vest. He made the swirling marks on both arms before putting the gun back in the bag.

"You'll need to pull your hair back. The point of the mask is to conceal as much as one's identity as it can," he spoke as he zipped the bag. "Not that it will help much with you being the only child."

I stood up and walked into the bathroom to get an elastic-band. I pulled my hair back, glad that it was finally long enough for everything to stay in the elastic. I walked back out to the kitchen table and strapped my dagger to my thigh and pulled on my boots.

"Did you recommend the team?" I asked, pulling on my mask.

"Yes, I believe they could make it. You?"

"They are a persistent group, so yeah, I think they'll be fine," I laughed. "I'll see ya around."

"See ya, Chie," he smiled through the mask.

"Chie?" That made me stop walking and I turned to look at him.

"It's the code name we decided for you," he explained, opening the front door.

"Oh, okay," I smiled then walked past him, letting him close the door. I used Shunpo and arrived at the Hokage office. I walked in and bowed before the desk. "I came to report for duty."

"Chie, I would like you to be on another duty 'til the exams are upon us. I want you to follow that sand Jinchuuriki closely, but be careful. His sand is more dangerous than you might think. Also, I had this sword forged for you," he spoke, lifting a blade of the desk.

I took it and strapped it to my back. I bowed then left the office. I jumped up and stood on top of the Fourth Hokage head and looked out over the village as the sun started to descend into the west. I spread out my Reiryoku to find Gaara's aura but found nothing. I growled as I found Temari and Kankuro's but not Gaara's.

"Aren't you a little small for an ANBU?" his voice rolled towards me form above on the cliff.

I groaned quietly and vanished from the head and appeared 50 feet behind Gaara. I lowered my voice pitch before talking. "You shouldn't be wandering the village, sand Genin."

"Are a lot of you ANBU short?"

I growled lifting my hand to my sword. "Get back to your team."

"Chie!" Kakashi's voice rolled towards us. I turned my head and saw him in his ANBU uniform. "What is going on?"

"The boy won't listen. I told him to get back to his team." I lowered my hand back to my side.

"Boy, no one is allowed to stay out after dark unless they have business," Kakashi growled. "Escort him back to his team, Chie."

I bowed then grabbed Gaara's arm and jumped to the hotel where his team was. We landed on the balcony and I shoved him into the room. His teammates jumped as Gaara tumbled to the floor. I had a smile on my face, glad that I had a mask on.

"Respect the rules or you won't be able to come back to Konoha," I growled.

"Gaara!' Temari cried as the boy clutched his head and growled. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing except bring him here on orders. No guests wander the village after dark unless on business. Keep watch on him."

"You're just a child!" Kankuro snapped.

"So? My abilities put me far more advanced than anyone else. Watch your mouth or I'll make sure you can't talk," I growled before disappearing and landing a few buildings a way.

**Gaara's Point of View**

That ANBU child, Chie, actually pushed me into the room that we were staying at and I fell to the floor. I growled as a memory came of that black-haired girl, Karin, running into me over a year ago. She had showed no fear and was with Leaf ANBU. The ANBU child reminded me of her. The hair, the eyes through the mask, the size… then it all clicked. That ANBU child was the three-tailed Okami, Karin.

"Gaara are you okay?" Temari pulled me to my feet.

"Back off," I growled and she skittered away. I walked to the balcony and looked at the buildings. A small figure was standing on a few buildings away. "I'll be back later."

"What about what that child said?" Kankuro snapped.

"Don't patronize me, I don't listen to rules," I snapped before jumping into the streets.

"You try my patience boy," a voice growled from the shadows of an alley that I started to pass.

"So you are following me, why?" I snapped.

"Go back." A sword was drawn and came out of the shadows.

"You would really attack one of your own, Karin?"

"What are you talking about?" the voice wavered slightly.

"Who else has purple eyes and is one of the most experienced Shinobi in the leaf and is the only child that is a Jounin?" I growled walking into the alley and she backed up. "Why are you following me?"

She sighed and put away her sword. She grabbed my arm and then we appeared in a forest. She walked away a few feet and then jumped into the tree and sat on high branch. I heard her sigh again and I wanted to smile.

"My captain wants me to follow you 'til the exams because of what you are. It's usually impossible to get the control I have at such a young age. I'm only 11, Gaara, and I gained full control when I was 7. Let's just say my orders come from cautious people," she spoke.

"Take off the mask," I spoke quietly.

"No," her voice hardened.

"Why not?" I growled, patience thinning.

"I'm on duty," she stated. "Please go back to your team. It's not like you won't see me around."

"I want to see your face," I spoke, making my voice not as cold as it usually is.

Her masked face looked at me and I heard another sigh. Her gloved hand came up and slid the mask up to it rested on top of her head. Her lower face was covered with a black fabric. I appeared next to her with my sand and she didn't even flinch.

"You're so different from everyone else," I whispered.

"Well I'm not from this area, so yeah I'm different," she laughed.

Using my sand, I pushed the black fabric down so it only covered her neck. "I asked to see your face, not just your eyes."

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	8. Death

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER SEVEN: DEATH**

**Karin's Point of View**

As his sand pushed down the fabric from my face, I wanted to gasp, but i looked at him and kept my emotions as controlled as his. I wanted to laught when his eyes narrowed as the fabric fell against my neck; he probably wanted a reaction from me. I leaned back and did a flip out of the tree and landed lightly on my feet.

"I have a job to do, go back to your team so I don't get into trouble," I spoke as I pulled the fabric back up and slid my mask back down over my face.

* * *

><p>The day of the exams, I got summoned to the Kage office and there were three Jounin there, two men and a woman.<p>

"Chie, these are the proctors for the Chunnin exams. Ibiki is in charge of the first phase, the written test. Anko controls the Forest of Death, and Gekko deals with the third phase, the battles. Chie will be with each of you during your phase. She has her orders and she'll just be hovering each of you like a shadow," Sarutobi explained.

"A child?" Ibiki scoffed.

"That's new," Anko smiled.

An ANBU appeared and knelt before me with something in his hand. "Chie, here's your cloak. Sorry we were not able to send it earlier."

I took it and the ANBU disappeared. I pulled the cloak on and smiled, seeing Ibiki's face. He was fuming, Anko was smiling, and Gekko's face was emotionless. I stayed silent as I watched each of their faces as they watched me.

"Time to head to phase one of the Chunin Exams. Chie follow Ibiki and do not disappoint me. Ibiki, be nice, you'll barely know she's there. She may be a child but she is the farthest advanced Shinobi that we have ever had."

"Come on kid," Ibiki sighed and I fell in step behind him.

I smiled at his reluctant attitude. We hurried to the school and the nine rookies were about to get into a huge fight with some Sound Genin. I tuned out everything and walked over and stood with the Jounin against the wall. I caught sight of Gaara looking at me.

The test got going and I wanted to laugh at Naruto. He looked as if he was about to rip his hair out and bang his head on the table from stress. He thought that he couldn't cheat at all. All the other Genin were using different techniques to gather their answers. Many were caught by the Jounin who were watching them and teams left the room, sulking.

* * *

><p>Time seemed to speed up and I found myself standing outside one of the gates of the Forest of Death. When I had taken this test, I had no team, and got both scrolls to the tower in 3 hours and that was not using any advanced abilities. Gaara's team walked to me and I realized that I was the one who was going to let them into the forest.<p>

I wished them luck as they ran in then I closed the gate and used Shunpo to get to the tower to be at Anko's side. Two hours later, a Jounin ran in with a tape that showed that Gaara and his team were already inside the tower. I smiled 'til Anko doubled over with a hand against her neck at the same time I felt Naruto's aura flare.

"Ma'am?" I hurried to her side. "What is it?"

"Orochimaru is here," she gasped.

Another ANBU hurried over and moved her hand, revealing a mark. "Chie go get Sarutobi."

"But…"

"Scratch your orders, kid! Get him now! This is a serious matter!"

I appeared in front of the Third, who was talking to Gekko on one of the lower levels. "Sorry to interrupt but your being summoned to Anko. Something is going on…about someone named Orochimaru."

"Take me to her," he growled. I grabbed his arm and obeyed. "Is he here?"

"Yes," Anko gasped in pain. "I think he targeted someone."

"What is going on?" I snapped. "Who is Orochimaru?"

"A very powerful Sanin and very dangerous," Anko whispered.

"Would he want something from Naruto?"

"Why?" every set of eyes in the room looked at me.

"His chakra just flared and was cut off by something," I whispered.

"I honestly don't know. We'll just have to see if they're okay when this test is over. Go back to your other mission and I'll get some other ANBU here to be with Anko."

"Yes, sir," I bowed then appeared a few feet behind Gaara. "Congratulations for beating my record."

All three jumped and spun around. I laughed at Gaara whose eyes were narrowed and Temari and Kankuro's where as wide as they could go. I took my hood off and relaxed my posture.

"Why do you keep hanging around us?" Kankuro snapped.

"…"

"Hey, he asked you a question. It's only fair if you answer the damn question…"

"Temari." That one word form Gaara shut her up. "Go to the room we have been provided."

She growled but pulled Kankuro down the hall. I turned and walked the opposite way. I got about ten feet before sand tugged at my cloak, stopping me.

"I didn't say you could go anywhere, Chie," he growled.

I disappeared out of his sand and appeared next to him. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't use your sand against me."

"Or what?" he growled, his voice holding a hint of teasing.

"Or I'll use mine against you," I growled.

"We'll see. Where have you been?"

"Around… It's kind of hard to do my job when I'm near you. You talk too much," I chuckled. "Go up and rest. You'll see me nearby, but please let me follow my orders without interference."

He nodded and started to walk down the hall.

"I have a question…" he turned his head to look at me. "Why are your teammates so afraid of you?"

"When I was younger, I killed a lot because of how unstable I was with my beast. Everyone fears me but wants to use me," he spoke then kept walking.

* * *

><p>Time seemed to speed up again and I found myself training with ANBU almost every day to pass the time. The Preliminaries were over and the Genin were supposed to be training for the next month for the third exams. I knew that Gaara was nearby watching me but I ignored it. I kept myself in ANBU uniform and never took off my mask. I hardly slept, not because I was too busy, but because I felt the atmosphere darken almost every day.<p>

Days before the third tests, I was doing guard duty.

I walked through the forest of the Southern border of Konoha, the crunch of leaves and twigs under my feet were the only sounds. Half way through my guard hours, I found myself facing a man. His yellowish eyes were surrounded by purple-like make-up and he had long black hair that contrasted with his pale skin that was almost white. His clothing was most unusual from what I had seen of a Shinobi.

"Who are you?" I growled, drawing my sword.

"Ah, you're the special one. Sorry but I won't have you ruin my plans," he smiled then attacked with a kunai I didn't see before.

He was an advanced blade fighter and I was having difficulty with his movements. One swing of his kunai hit my mask and it broke in half. I felt blood rolling down my cheek and arms from his attacks. Suddenly he pulled a sword out of nowhere and shoved it through my chest, barely missing my vital organs.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	9. Healing of the Icy Heart

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER EIGHT: HEALING OF THE ICY-HEART**

**ANBU HEADQUARTERS**

"Where is Chie?" Kakashi growled.

ANBU was in a frenzy. Chie was supposed to check in 8 hours ago from perimeter checks and no one had seen her for 12 hours. Almost every single ANBU was searching frantically for her.

"CHIE!" an ANBU cried, voice startled.

Kakashi spun around and saw Karin in the arms of the sand genin that had beat Rock Lee in the Preliminaries. His teal eyes were blank and his sand was swirling around him and Karin. Her once white vest was soaked in blood. Her mask was broken in half, resting on her stomach and a cut ran across her cheek. Her arms were covered in blood and some blood was dripping from her fingers. A lot of the blood was dry but there was still a bit that was still fresh.

"What happened?" the silver-haired ex-ANBU ran to the genin.

"No clue. Found her when I was taking a walk." His voice was empty but it didn't bother anyone. "There was blood everywhere in the forest. Her pulse is very faint and is getting weaker. I suggest you get her help before she dies."

Kakashi took Karin from him and jumped to the hospital. The doctors saw them coming and jumped into immediate action. Unable to go into the operating room, Kakashi sat in the hallway outside the operating room for hours before someone came out.

"Whoever attacked her missed her heart and lungs just barely. Either they missed by accident or they did it on purpose just to get her out of the way. She's lucky, but she'll be out for a few da…"

"She's awake!" a nurse ran out.

Kakashi scrambled in after them and reached her bed. Her purpled eyes were half open and slightly glazed with a hint of silver. The remains of her uniform were in a pile in the garbage and her whole torso was wrapped.

"Who attacked you?" Kakashi whispered.

"I…don't know…" she winced. "…eyes were like a snake…yellow…and purple… makeup…" she coughed and blood came out. "He said…he…didn't want…me to…ruin his…plan…" Her eyes closed and she went limp on the bed.

"What is Orochimaru doing in the Leaf?" a nurse gasped.

"Protect her," Kakashi growled. "I'll get a few ANBU down her soon." Then he ran out of the hospital and ran to the Kage building and burst into the office and all five Kages where in there. "I'm sorry sir, but I must speak with you privately. It's about Karin."

"Excuse me gentlemen," Sarutobi stood up and walked out into the hallway with the Jounin. "What is it Kakashi?"

"Orochimaru almost killed Karin. She was on the verge of dying when we found her. We got a few words from her and she said that Orochimaru got her out of the way so she wouldn't ruin his plans. What is he up to?"

"I'm not sure, but you need to go back to training Sasuke to be able to control that mark."

"Yes, sir," Kakashi bowed. "I request that a few ANBU protect her."

"I'll send them; now go back to training your student."

Kakashi nodded and left the Kage building.

**Karin's Point of View**

I opened my eyes and heard an explosion off in the distance. I stumbled off the bed and it took all my energy to not fall. I grabbed my zanpakto and hurried out of the room.

"Chie, you must stay…" one ANBU started to say before I interrupted.

"What's happening outside?" I growled.

"No clue, we were ordered to protect you. The final exams are almost over," the other ANBU spoke.

"Why am I being protected?"

"Orochimaru almost killed you. You would have been dead if not for that genin, that controls sand, finding you."

"Gaara?" I gasped, stumbling past them and into the streets.

"Chie! You shouldn't be moving!" the ANBU ran after me. "You need…"

On top of the rink building was a black dome thing.

"Lord Hokage!" they yelled.

While they were distracted, I ran towards where Gaara's and Naruto's chakra were raging. I stumbled through the forest, focusing all my energy into moving. I ran past Shino and Kankuro, who were unconscious and into a clearing of sorts that had many wounds from being attacked and the jinchuuriki energy was gone. Naruto and Gaara were both laying on the ground beaten up.

"Gaara…Naruto…" I gasped sagging against a tree.

My chest wound had opened and I felt the warm liquid soak through the bandages. Temari was nearby, but was staying out of sight for the moment. Naruto started moving towards Gaara, using only his chin in his determination.

"Don't go near me!" Gaara yelled.

Naruto kept inching closer. "The pain of being alone…is completely out of this world, isn't it?" he whispered sadly. "I don't know why…but I understand your feelings so much, it actually hurts. But I…I have people who are important to me now. I won't let you hurt my important people. If you do, I'll stop you, even if I have to kill you."

"Why can you do this for strangers?" Gaara stammered.

"My loneliness…that hell… they saved me form it, and they acknowledged my existence. They're important to me… that's why," Naruto spoke.

Sasuke jumped into the clearing next to Naruto. "You can stop now, Naruto. Sakura is fine now. He must be out of chakra, too… Since that sand holding Sakura has released her."

"I see…" Naruto rested his head on the ground as Kankuro jumped into the clearing and Temari came out of hiding.

I forced myself to my feet and stood next to Sasuke, ready for a fight if it came.

"Don't fight them," Gaara spoke. "Let's stop."

Kankuro nodded and helped him stand up. I smiled as Gaara looked at me as Temari came to his other side to support him. Sasuke stood up and helped me stay standing since I felt my vision blur slightly.

"Karin, I'm glad you're alive," Gaara whispered.

"A stab wound won't kill me, I have better endurance than what that did," I smiled.

"That stab may not kill you, but the loss of blood will," Sasuke growled.

"Good-bye, Gaara," I whispered then used Shunpo to get to the hospital. I felt someone pick me up as my eyes closed into darkness.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	10. Truth Comes Out

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER NINE: TRUTH COMES OUT**

I was forced to stay in the hospital for a few weeks so I could heal. I hated the fact that my beast as a slow healer so she couldn't heal me as fast as on my own, but the quirk of having the wolf inside me is that when I did heal, there was no scars. When I was finally discharged from the hospital, I was told the outcome of the battle between Sarutobi and Orochimaru. Orochimaru managed to escape and Sarutobi died. Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sanin, became the fifth Hokage and life moved on.

I found myself wandering a lot when I wasn't on a mission for ANBU. I was still walking though the forest, even after my encounter with the snake Sannin. Sakura and Naruto were sulking the first few months since the battle because Sasuke left to go get more power and joined with Orochimaru. The other Legendary Sanin, Jiraiya, came to the village and then left with Naruto, planning to train him.

Gaara had become Kazekage after they found the Fourth's body. The village had accepted his existence for more than just a monster. I wanted to go and visit him, but didn't really feel like leaving the village.

Three years passed and Naruto finally returned. He looked more mature but I was positive that he still acted like a kid. Sakura had become Tsunade's subordinate and learned medical Ninjutsu.

After Naruto returned, I was called on a mission with ANBU. We were going after the Akatsuki, the same group as when I had first arrived in this world. We wanted to know more about what the group was planning on, but we found nothing new. On the way back to the village, Kakashi's lead dog, Pakkun, appeared and stopped us.

"What's up, Pakkun?" my captain, Asaka, spoke.

"The Akatsuki have taken the Kazekage, Lord Gaara. Tsunade wants you to go to Suna and help the hidden sand," the dog spoke.

"Okay, let's go. Chie go ahead and get to work in helping calm down the village."

I nodded and appeared outside the main building. The village was in turmoil and many buildings were damaged. I ran inside and up to the councilor's office.

"How did it happen?" I growled.

"He was protection the village and got hit by a bomb blast," one councilor spoke.

"I was sent ahead of my team to help. You need to send some teams out to the perimeters incase one of the other countries find out and think it as a weakness. We need to calm down the village before it gets too far to be controlled," I ordered.

"Team Kakashi and Team Gai went after him, but what do they want with him?" Temari asked from her place leaning against the wall.

"Shukaku," I muttered, realizing their goals. "That or they want a war but that's stupid since Konoha is allied with Suna."

"It makes sense," a councilor muttered.

"Get those outposts around the village filled. We don't know if the other nations have heard of this incident and if they have, they may want to start a war while Suna is vulnerable," I growled, and then pulled Temari out of the building.

"Where do you live Temari?" I whispered. She was a few inches taller than me; I had grown and was about 5'1" now.

"It's that house, Kankuro is inside, recovering. Sakura was able to save him from being poisoned," she whispered.

"Are you siblings?"

"Yes," she laughed. "Kankuro, Gaara and I. Gaara's the youngest and Kankuro's the oldest."

"Huh," I laughed lightly as we walked inside.

When we got inside, Kankuro was on the couch with a few puppets that were a little bigger than her. Temari sat on the couch as Kankuro looked up. His eyes widened as he saw me standing there.

"Chie?" he gasped. "You've grown."

"Well yeah," I laughed. "I was only 11 when we first met, but I'm not here on a visit call," I sighed, pulling off my white mask.

"Hey, you're the one who tackled me outside Konoha before the exams!" Kankuro stood up as I pulled the black mask down. "You're ANBU?"

"Yes."

"That's why Gaara kept talking to you, even after you told him not to," Temari smiled.

"I don't know his reasons, but I do hope he comes back alive," I whispered.

"Don't we all," Kankuro slumped back onto the couch. "He's not as angry and cold as he used to be."

"Because of Naruto," I smiled, sitting on a chair. "That boy could get through to almost everyone."

"He failed once? With who?" Temari sat next to Kankuro.

"Uchiha Sasuke. It's sad that Sasuke never truly understood what he already had," I sighed.

"Chie?" a voice called as they knocked on the door. I pulled my mask on as Temari answered it. "We need the wolf's strength. A building has collapsed and many villagers are trapped," Asaka spoke.

I ran after him and Temari and Kankuro followed. One of the bigger buildings had, indeed, collapsed. I transformed into my full size and picked up the building in my teeth and lifted it up. Shinobi rushed in and pulled out ten villagers then I lowered the building back to its broken foundation.

When I transformed back, I was engulfed by cheering. I swayed form the sudden energy loss and strong arms caught me. I looked up as Kankuro pulled me into his arms, bridal style, and carried me back down the streets. Inside their house, he laid me down on the couch.

"Thanks," I smiled, taking the mask back off.

"You're like Gaara?" Temari stammered.

"In a way," I smiled. "I am a Jinchuuriki, but I've had full control since I was seven."

"Does Gaara know?" Kankuro sat next to me.

"Yes, I told him before the exams. He was still asking why I had apologized for running into him the first time we met so I told him why."

"Three tailed wolf… I used to think that was a myth," he chuckled.

"So did everyone else in this world," I laughed. "In my world, no one cared because I was a tool. I used to have a lot of issues when people insulted me for being a host. One asked when I'd go on a killing streak next and I killed him without thinking. He was one of our leader's guards and alarms rose as soon as he was dead. I had to run unless I wanted to be executed, so that's how I ended up in this world. ANBU found me during one of their missions and brought me along. Afterwards, they came here for a few minutes and I had seen some kids running from Gaara calling him names."

"World…?" Temari stammered, trying to grasp what I was saying.

"Yes, Temari, I am the only one to have ever mastered jumping worlds. I transport myself easy, just like at the end of the exams. I was there then I was at the hospital," I smiled yawning.

"Get some rest," Kankuro spoke and I closed my eyes.

* * *

><p>"Mayuri, it has been three years, what else is there to do?" Byakuya snapped as he burst into my lab.<p>

"What crawled up your ass and died?" I smirked as I typed on the computer. "The computer is just barely starting the search for Karin's Reiryoku. That will take at least a month then testing to make sure we can go through unharmed."

"Is there anyway to make it go faster?"

"If you rush things the results will not be pleasant, now go away so I can keep working," I smirked.

**Byakuya's Point of View**

I stormed back to my division of the city and Renji stayed clear. He knew me too well to know when I was in a bad mood or not. I sat next to him, not caring about grace and looking crisp. I was exhausted and we needed to capture Karin as soon as possible.

"RED ALERT! RYOKA HAVE BREACHED THE CITY. ALL CAPTAINS AND LIEUTENANTS TO THE MAIN OFFICE. EVERYONE ELSE GET TO YOUR POSTS!" the call came across the city and I growled as I stood up. This day had just gotten much, much worse.

* * *

><p>"Chie, wake up!" Temari growled.<p>

I sat up and blinked. "What?"

"It's Gaara, they're back!" she smiled, hugging me.

I jumped to my feet and pulled my mask back on. I transported to the gate and saw a faint haze in the distance of many Shinobi coming towards the gates. The village started to cheer as they saw Gaara at the front, alive. He was leaning against Naruto, his face was in shock at the cheering of the whole village. When they got to the gate, Gaara's eyes trailed across the faces and rested on me.

"Let's take a moment of silence for Lady Chiyo," Gaara's voice rolled over the Shinobi and it became quiet.

I looked around and saw an old lady on a stretcher. Besides her were Sakura and an old man. Everyone bowed their heads and closed their eyes in respect. When the group of returning Shinobi started to move again, I fell in step besides Gaara and helped Naruto stabilize him.

"It's been a while," Gaara spoke. "I was wondering if I'd ever see you again."

I looked at him and replied, "I've been busy."

"Chie, you are a liar," Naruto growled. "You were always moping when I saw you."

"When you saw me, I wasn't being called on a mission. Plus, how would you know, you've been gone for two years," I snapped.

"Calm down, Chie, I'm just saying for what I saw. I always saw you wander off into the forest," he muttered.

"Sarutobi had died, Naruto. He gave me a place to belong. You expect me to be emotionless?" I hissed.

"Sorry," he trailed off.

We helped Gaara to his house then Gaara let go of Naruto and had me help him down the hall. In his room, he sat on the bed and sighed. He fell backwards slowly and rested on a pillow then I sat on the bed next to him.

"What did they want with you?" I whispered, taking my white mask off, but leaving the black one on.

"The Shukaku… They had this device thing and extracted it. I think I died in the process too. If not for Lady Chiyo, I wouldn't be here talking to you," he whispered, his hand resting on top of mine.

I wrapped my fingers around his and smiled slightly. "I'm glad you're safe. I'm not sure of what I would have done if…" I trailed off, not wanting to finish.

He sat up and looked at me. "Why do you say that?"

"I should have been here…" I whispered, looking away from him as tears leaked out. "You're someone I want to protect…"

"Karin…"

"Gaara?" Kankuro's voice through the door.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	11. Confessions

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TEN: CONFESSIONS**

"What?" Gaara snapped and I smiled slightly.

The door opened and Kankuro came in. "We need to arrange Lady Chiyo's funeral," he spoke. "Chie, are you okay?"

Since my head had been turned away from Gaara, he could see the traitorous tears. I thought for a second before deciding that I needed some air. I stood up and walked to the door.

"Um…I'm going to get some air…" I spoke as I left.

I walked out of the house, past questioning looks and towards the gates. I found myself sitting on the cliff above the gates, looking out over the desert. I pulled my hair out of its elastic and it hit my waist. I placed my white mask in my lap and sighed as I pulled the black fabric down to rest around my neck.

I cared for Gaara and wanted to be near him since we started talking before the exams, but I kept running from him. I kept away for three years when I knew at times I could have gone to see him. I sighed and wanted to scream in my conflicted frustration.

"Chie?" I heard Temari behind me. She sat next to me and took a deep breath. "Are you okay?"

"It's Karin, and I don't know," I sighed again. "I care about Gaara a lot. During the exams, we'd talk a bit and I liked it. But since then, I've avoided him and I don't know why."

"Maybe your just scared…scared that you love him and scared that he might reject you," she smiled.

I looked at her and she brushed the hair out of my eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You love Gaara, it's easy to see if you know what to look for," she laughed. She looked behind us and I saw her eyes widen and she scrambled to her feet and ran away down the ramp to the village.

A few seconds later, I heard light footsteps. I don't need to look to know it was Gaara. He sat by me and stayed quiet. Sand swirled around in front of me and soaked up the tears on my cheeks.

"Karin, why are you crying?" he whispered softly.

"Many reasons…" I whispered. "Pain…confusion…anger… Pick one."

"Why are you angry?"

"I was on a mission, trying to figure out the Akatsuki's plans and found nothing. We were summoned here afterwards and I finally realized what they were. I should have been here, I could have helped."

"Why pain?"

"All inner wounds… I may seem fine but some wounds will never heal."

"Wounds of the heart? My uncle told me about those and that there is only one cure for them…"

"Yes, but some wounds won't even be healed by it. One wound I'll never be able to heal and that is returning to my original home."

"So make yourself a new home. There are some who would hate to see you leave. Why are you confused?"

"My mind is tripping over itself trying to understand what I've done and reasons I've done them. Who would hate to see me leave?"

"Well, there's your village, ANBU, my siblings and…myself," he mumbled.

I looked at him and saw a smile. "Why you?"

"Kankuro told me of your past. If you went back, no one would ever see you again. If I hadn't been buried under my duties as Kazekage, I think I may have come to see you." He stood up and turned away from me. "You don't know how tormented I was when I had found you almost dead during the Chunin exams... Not knowing if you had recovered after I saw you in the forest during the invasion..." he whispered.

"Gaara?" I spoke confused. I stood up and walked behind him.

"Yes?" he deliberately kept his back to me.

"Look at me," I growled.

He turned around and looked at me. His face was empty of emotion, but the tears were evident. I walked closer and stood less than a foot away. I wiped away the tears and brought the moisture to my lips.

"Was Temari right about what she said when I showed up?" his voice was tight as if he was forcing himself to keep emotions hidden.

"What did you hear?" I whispered, searching his eyes.

"She said you loved me…"

I looked down and noticed that his hands were clenched. I frowned and pulled his hands away from his sides and made him relax them. I finally looked back up at him after a few moments and smiled, never letting go of his hands.

"Yes."

"So why were you crying before Kankuro had interrupted?"

I looked back down at our hands and wound my fingers through his and relaxed my arms so our hands fell to our sides. "I guess that…maybe I'm still afraid…that I'll be pushed away…"

He pulled his hands out of mine and I let him as tears fell. I closed my eyes and tried to stop the tears, feeling the rejection but his arms came around me and pulled me to him. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his shirt. He rested his head on top of mine and tightened his grip around me.

"Please don't ever leave," he whispered into my hair. "You leave and I may just have to track you down and drag you back."

I smiled and took a slow breath. I had wondered how this would feel like and now I had it. My tears kept falling, now from happiness, and soaked into his shirt which I'm sure he could feel.

"Come we need to dress for the funeral. I'm sure Temari will have something that you could wear," he smiled then transported us to his house, using his sand.

He swayed and I steadied him. "You need to take it easy with the chakra," I growled, helping him inside.

"What happened?" Naruto stood up as we came into the living room.

"He is just pushing himself too far," I sighed. "Naruto, help him to his room."

"Temari, would you lend Karin something to wear for the funeral?" Gaara asked as Naruto dragged him away.

I found myself being dragged up the stairs and Temari pulled me into her closet.

"So… what happened?" she smiled as soon as she found a black kimono for me.

I smiled as I changed and told her. Her eyes bulged when I told her about the hug and I fell silent and finished changing.

"So it's not just Naruto that has changed Gaara," she smiled.

"Maybe," I laughed strapping my dagger to my thigh under the dress.

"Maybe? Wow that's slick," she growled. "He may not admit it but he is falling for you if he hasn't already. Remember what I said earlier? It's obvious when you know what to look for. I have thought of you as a sister since you came to help and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Thanks Temari," I smiled as she pulled out a pair of flats.

"How old are you now, Karin?"

"I'll be fifteen in a few weeks. Come, they'll be waiting for us," I smiled, grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the room.

Gaara and Naruto came out of the hall and we walked out of the house. Naruto handed Gaara to me at his request and I helped support him. I had one arm around his waist and my other hand grasped his wrist that was over my shoulder. People followed us as we walked to the cemetery.

"Karin, I must speak with you," my captain caught up to me.

I nodded and handed Gaara back to Naruto and followed Asaka away from the villagers. We jumped up onto a nearby building and watched the procession towards Lady Chiyo's burial site. It was quiet for a few minutes as we studied the villagers.

"What's the Kazekage's situation?" Asaka spoke.

"Somehow, the Akatsuki extracted his beast, so he is no longer a host. He has some control over sand still but I'm not sure what his limits are," I reported.

"I come to offer you a special mission on behalf of the village. If you would like to stay here in Suna, you may, but you must be at the Kazekage's side to protect him."

"Very well, I'll take the mission," I spoke, voice empty of emotion.

"You'll still be ANBU but on this mission, no uniform is allowed. You must blend in with the villagers."

"Yes, sir," I bowed.

"Either I or another team will be back soon with your things to make the mission a little more bearable. Now get going, you have a leader to protect," he spoke.

I nodded and ran off. Gaara was already at the grave with most of the village. I walked to him and stood next to him.

* * *

><p>"Karin, are you coming?" Tenten asked, hesitating behind the others as they started to walk away from the gates of Suna to head home.<p>

"No, sorry. I have a solo mission that I must take care of," I spoke.

"How long?"

"No clue, a few months, years… I'm not exactly sure." Both teams seemed to understand. They knew I was ANBU and they also knew that Gaara was vulnerable now. "I'll see ya around."

They nodded and left.

"What's your mission?" Gaara asked as the sand Shinobi walked back through the gate to head home.

"ANBU thinks you need protection now since you don't have Shukaku. So basically my mission is you," I smiled. "Think you have room for me?"

"Of course," he smiled, bringing me into his arms. "I can always make room for you. Just never leave."

"Okay," I smiled then transported us to his house which was still empty. "Come on, you need rest."

"What?" his voice was startled and there was a hint of fear.

"Sleep. The Shukaku is gone, you don't need to fear sleeping anymore," I smiled, pulling him to his room.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	12. Trama Relived

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: TRAMA RELIVED**

"But…"

"Gaara, stop being so afraid."

"I've never slept before…"

"It's not like I'm going to leave you alone while you recover," I smiled.

He nodded as I pulled him to the bed. I went to close the door as he sat down and I took off my shoes then sat on the bed with Gaara. He finally lied down, convinced that I wouldn't leave and I smiled.

"Just close your eyes and relax Gaara, sleep will come," I smiled and he obeyed.

After about ten minutes, his breathing slowed and a low sound came from him that was like a snore but it wasn't. I heard Temari and Kankuro come in laughing and I wanted to go punch them but Gaara rolled and his head came onto my thigh.

The siblings went upstairs and I relaxed. Gaara was so peaceful when he was a sleep and I closed my eyes. Hours later, both siblings came down the stairs loudly. Their footsteps proved that they were coming down the hall and the door opened. They froze in the doorway, seeing Gaara sleeping in my lap to my growl as I glared at them.

"What?" I hissed.

"Um…I guess it can wait…" Temari stammered. "How long has he been out?"

"Just before you came home," I replied. "Please go."

They nodded and left quickly. I lifted his head gently; long enough for me to be able to lie down then laid his head on my stomach. I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.

Gaara's quick breathing woke me and I looked at him. His face was pale and covered in a light sweat. I woke him and as he opened his eyes, he cried out softly. I ran my fingers through his hair, unsure of what else to do.

"It may take some time for the nightmares to go away," I whispered as he sat up. I sat up and placed a hand on his back. "Are you okay?"

"It was horrible…" he breathed. "The extraction…"

"Don't think about it," I growled gently. "The sooner you can forget it the sooner you can get some peace."

He sagged against my hand and I pulled him close as we lied back down. His head was on my chest, his arms wrapped around himself. Even though he was older than me, I treated the situation like he was a child. I started to softly sing a song I learned in Soul Society that was told to scare bad dreams away. I felt his body relax and he moved his whole body closer for comfort. His breathing slowed again and he went back to sleep. I closed my eyes and held him close.

In the morning, I woke up to a soft knocking on Gaara's door. He was still asleep. I eased myself off the bed and went to answer the door. As I opened the door I blinked in surprise at Kankuro's bitter look.

"What bit you in the butt?" I whispered. "He's still sleeping."

"The council wants him back to work today," he muttered and I groaned, resting my head on the door. "See why I'm annoyed?"

"Yes, I want you to send a message to them. If they make him work before he recovers now, then they'll have the wrath of my wolf do deal with," I whispered and he grinned.

"You're very useful to have at times," he laughed and left.

I closed the door and lied back down on the bed next to Gaara. I rested on my side and watched him sleep. A while later, he finally opened his eyes and yawned as he rolled onto his back, stretching.

"How'd you sleep?" I smiled, propping myself on an elbow, hovering over him.

"It was good, thank you for last night," he smiled.

"My pleasure," I breathed, pressing my lips to his tattoo.

His arms came around me and pulled me onto him. I shifted and buried my face against his neck, hiding my smile. I felt him sigh and he tightened his grip around me.

"Your skin is so soft and warm," he whispered. "Past two years I imagined holding you like this."

I lifted my head and looked at him, surprised. His eyes were soft and he had a genuine smile. My hands were on his chest and his were on my lower back.

"I want to try something… Would you close your eyes?" his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I'm not going to hurt you or anything," I defended.

He closed his eyes and I smiled. I pressed my lips to his gently then I hid my face against his neck as I felt heat rise to my face. I felt his heart speed up and I wanted to laugh.

"Karin…"

"Gaara?" Temari knocked on the door.

I laughed as I got off him as he growled in irritation. I opened the door and Temari stood in the doorway, calm. "What's up?"

"The doctor is here to make sure he's not sick or injured," she spoke.

"Bring him in," Gaara called, staying on the bed.

"Okay," she nodded and walked back down the hall.

I walked over to the window and leaned against it as an older man strode into the room. He was tall over and thin. On a first glance, I would have thought he was frail but the way he walked proved otherwise.

"Excuse me, milady, would you excuse us?" the Shinobi turned to me.

"No," I growled, eyes narrowed. "I am the Leaf ANBU, Chie, and I have been ordered to protect the Kazekage."

"Very well," he sighed. "Lord Gaara, if you will."

Gaara's face was bitter as he sat up and pulled off his shirt. I stared at the wall across from me as the Shinobi worked with Gaara. At the end, he took some blood then finally left. I straightened up and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Karin, come here," Gaara growled, still shirtless.

I walked over to the edge of the bed and looked down at him. "Yes?"

He grabbed my waist and pulled me onto the bed. I found myself straddling him and I looked at him, surprised. One of his hands came to caress my cheek and I leaned against it as I studied his face. He smiled as his other hand rested on my thigh.

"Karin…"

I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around his neck and buried my face against his neck as I pushed him backwards so we were lying on the bed. His arms came around my waist and pulled me as tightly as he could to him and took a deep breath. I smiled as he shivered when my lips pressed against his neck.

"I love you, Gaara," I breathed.

"I love you too, Karin," he chuckled and my breathing stopped as my heart pounded against my chest. I'm sure he could feel it too with how hard it was beating. "Breathe, my love."

I took a shallow breath and his hands rubbed up and down my back. I slid one of my hands down his bare chest, feeling the muscles and I felt him shiver again. I lifted my head to look at him and his eyes were closed. I studied his face and liked the smile that he had. He opened his eyes finally and one of his hands came up to the back of my neck and pulled me closer and kissed me. It was slow at first then it became deeper.

He rolled on top of me and his tongue snaked out and traced my lips, wanting entrance. I parted my lips and he claimed my mouth. I moaned involuntarily and one of his hands slid down my side to my leg then went back up under the kimono. He left my mouth and trailed his lips down my chin to my collarbone and I gasped.

The door opened and Gaara pulled his hand out of my kimono and looked over his shoulder towards the door. I propped myself up on my elbow and wanted to laugh. Temari and Kankuro stood in the doorway, dumbfounded as they looked at Gaara over me.

"What?" I growled.

"…um…council needs Chie…" Kankuro stammered, face red.

"Fine, give me a few minutes," I snapped at them and they left. "Idiots."

"Why do you thing they need you?" Gaara whispered, getting off me.

"No clue," I sighed, standing up. I pulled my shoes on and pulled my hair up into a high bun. "I'll be back," I smiled, kissing his cheek before leaving.

At the main building, I was ushered to the council room. When I entered, I was surprised to see that every gaze at me was hostile. I sat in the Kazekage's seat and narrowed my eyes.

"Why are you not allowing Lord Gaara to come back to his duties?" one snapped.

"You really don't get it, do you? Why is Lady Chiyo dead, first off?" I glared at everyone. "Gaara had died in the hands of the enemy when they extracted the Shukaku. She used her reanimation jutsu and gave him what life she had left. You make him work now and he will never recover from being dead," I growled.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**

**What do you thing? Too fast between them? **


	13. Soul Society

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TWELVE: SOUL SOCIETY**

The room went silent as every pair of eyes widened with realization. I stood up and walked towards the door. They stayed silent for a few minutes until I started to open the door to leave.

"What do we do then? We need someone to act as Kazekage," someone whispered.

"Have one of his siblings take over so he can recover, but don't test my patience," I whispered to them then left.

In the streets, people bowed to me, smiling and calling me_ 'Chie.' _I walked slowly down the streets trying to ignore everyone. At Gaara's home, they all were in the living room, but I needed some time to think. I walked up stairs and climbed onto the roof before sitting down.

I looked out at the streets at the villagers who were helping rebuild the damaged homes and taking in those whose homes were completely destroyed. I opened my Reiryoku towards the gateway between the two worlds and looked over Soul Society. They were on a high alert. Five Ryoka had gotten into Seireitei, the capital of Soul Society and were beating many of the Shinigami. It was all in chaos and I had to smile.

* * *

><p>"Nemu, what is that beeping?" I snapped as I rolled out of bed. I knew about the ryoka who had entered the city but didn't care to get involved. Byakuya would have snapped at me anyway if he saw me not working on the tests.<p>

"The computer has a lock on Karin. It's saying she's above the city but cannot detect where at. It's going haywire," Nemu spoke urgently as she started to type rapidly on the second computer. Then the beeping stopped. "Her Reiryoku has disappeared... I almost had her."

"Damn, keep working on it. We're so close," I sighed walking over to the third computer to start working with the tests for the gate's energy.

* * *

><p>"Karin?"<p>

I blinked and cut off the bridge with Soul Society. I looked behind me and saw Gaara come up. He sat next to me and I looked back over the village.

"What's wrong? You come back and don't even say anything and disappear," he spoke quietly.

"Everyone here knows me as Chie and respects me because of the wolf and that I'm ANBU. But they don't really know me," I muttered, pulling my legs up and resting my head on my chin.

"Give it time, they'll learn to know you Karin," he whispered, wrapping his arms around me. "What did the council want?"

"They wanted to know why I refused to let you go back to your duties. Earlier, Kankuro relayed a message from me that if they made you work while recovering, they'd have the wrath of my beast to deal with," I chuckled. "I told them that one of your siblings should help them so you can recover in peace."

"What were you thinking about when I came up? You were pretty out of it, I had to call your name a few times," he lifted my chin so he could see my face.

"Oh…um…" I pulled out of his embrace and stood up. "I used my power to look at my world to see how it was doing…"

"Why?" I barely heard him.

"Why what?" I turned to look at him as he stood up.

"Why did you do that…look at your world, I mean?"

"I miss it," I whispered, lowering my head to look at the ground. "I don't know how I can let it go…"

He pulled me to him and I sighed and rested my head on his chest. "Some things are hard to let go, but sometimes it's better to do it."

"How? It was my home 'til four years ago…"

"It _**was **_your home," he growled. "Is it still or can you accept that your home is here?"

I pulled us to the space between the two worlds and let him look at the wonders. "Look at it all. It may have hard times and all but it was always peaceful, even during battles like you see now."

* * *

><p>"The computer has detected her again! But there's a foreign Reiryoku with hers," Nemu spoke typing rapidly again.<p>

"Twice in an hour, what doest this mean?" I muttered as I hurried to her. "Is she opening a gateway?"

"I don't know... It's gone again..." she growled, disappointed.

* * *

><p>I heard his breathing stop for a few seconds and I looked at Seireitei, seeing the battles. An orange haired Ryoka had just beat Abari Renji, 6th squad lieutenant, and was being helped by a 4th squad medic.<p>

I sighed and pulled us back so we were back on the roof. I pulled away from him and walked towards the edge of the roof and sat back down. It was hard to decide between two worlds that I loved equally. I heard Gaara groan and he walked over and sat behind me. He pulled me into his lap and let out a breath.

"I'm sorry, Karin," he whispered in my ear. "It is still hard to understand that you're from another world…"

"I know, it will just take a while to accept that I'll never be accepted there anymore," I breathed.

His reply was pulling me tighter against his body. It was quiet for a while as we sat there in each other's arms and I finally started to relax and pushed the finally choice out of my head. Eventually, my butt started to fall asleep so I wriggled out of Gaara's arms and stood up. He followed my lead and I started to go back inside.

"Karin?" I stopped and turned to look at him. "This mission of yours… is your orders to not allowed to let me out of your sight except on important business like with the daimyo earlier?"

"Pretty much, why?"

"Just wondering," he smiled.

"Gaara?" I growled.

"Come, Temari is making breakfast," he smiled again, pulling me inside.

I sighed and followed him. In the kitchen, Temari was putting cut-up fruit, pancakes, and orange juice on the table. While we ate it was quiet, even though Temari was talking to Kankuro. As soon as I finished eating, I put my dishes in the sink and Temari dragged me out of the room.

"What?" I spoke startled at her sudden action.

"What happened this morning? Why was he on top of you when we came in? Speak," she snapped.

"He told me he loves me," I smiled. "Who knows…maybe you'll truly get me as a sister. We'll just have to see."

"That doesn't explain what we walked into," she hissed.

I raised an eyebrow and gave her a that-is-so-obvious look. "It's not that hard to figure out, Temari."

Her eyes budged and then Gaara mercifully appeared.

"Come, Karin," he spoke. I pulled out of Temari's grip and walked with Gaara down the hall.

"Perfect timing, she's nosy," I breathed.

"She can be when she wants," he laughed.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me through a door once inside his room. It was a bathroom and Gaara slid his shirt off. I turned away from him, realizing why he had asked about my mission on the roof.

"Will you help me?" he spoke, voice holding a bit of humor.

"No," I growled. I started to leave but his sand wrapped around my wrist gently. "This is why you asked about my mission, isn't it?" I kept my back to him.

"Yes," he breathed.

"I'm not ready for something like this, Gaara. Please let me go," I whispered. "It's too fast for me."

His sand fell away.

"I... I'll wait in the other room," I whispered then walked out of the bathroom.

I walked over to the window and leaned against the frame and looked out into streets. It didn't take him long to shower and I heard him come out. A drawer opened and then there was the sound of rustling fabric.

"Karin?" he whispered, wrapping his arms around me. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I breathed, relaxing against him. "I'm not leaving so things can go smoothly between us. I'll stay as long as you want me to."

"Then never leave," he breathed against my neck. "I'll never push you away if I can help it."

Something dripped onto my neck and I shuddered. I pulled away and looked at Gaara. He was shirtless and his hair was still pretty wet. I ran my fingers through his went hair and smiled. Then he shook his head, spraying drops onto me.

"Karin, there are a few leave ANBU here," Temari called through the door.

"Get dressed," I whispered then left the room. A 4-man team of leaf ANBU was standing in the entry way, each carrying a bag.

"Temari, show them up to the spare room," Gaara spoke, coming out of his room dressed.

She grumbled and walked up the stairs. ANBU followed silently and I followed them, curious. The room was on the third floor. There was a queen sized bed and had a double door balcony. The bags went into the closet then the team knelt in front of me, which meant they were new to ANBU. Temari left and pulled Gaara out with her.

"Remove your masks," I ordered. "Shino, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Kiba… When did you join?"

"A few weeks ago," Kiba smiled as Akamaru poked his head out of the cloak.

"Why are you hiding Akamaru?"

"Because every Shinobi would immediately recognize me."

"True," I smiled. "Not much of a mission bringing my things."

"We volunteered. Lee was muttering about you having a prolonged mission and then we saw ANBU packing your apartment," Shino spoke.

"You headed back now?"

"Yes, Chie," Hinata smiled, bowing.

"No need to treat me like that. We are equal among ANBU," I smiled and they stood. "Have a safe trip back."

They put on their masks and jumped out onto a nearby roof through the open balcony doors. The sun was still rising and I smiled. This village would be my home and I'd learn to accept that I'd never return to Soul Society.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	14. Visions of Death

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: VISIONS OF DEATH**

"Karin, are you okay?" Gaara spoke, coming in.

"Yes," I smiled, looking over my shoulder at him. "Is your room the only one downstairs?"

"Yes, I took over it a few years ago because Temari always complained that I didn't sleep anyway. This used to be my room," he smiled, sitting on the couch.

I walked over and stood in front of him, smiling. He grabbed my waist and pulled me gently forward. I shifted and ended up straddling him. As I brought my lips to his, I felt him through his pants and knew he was happy with me there. As I deepened the kiss, I felt him harden more and I had to smile as I pulled back and rested my head against his shoulder.

"Technically, you need to be resting, Gaara," I breathed as I trailed my lips against his neck.

"But that's no fun," he whined.

I laughed and got off of him. "You need to lie down. Deathly experiences are the worst to recover from."

"How would you know?" he inquired.

"Did you forget what happened to me during the exams? You found me as I was close to falling into shadows forever. You saw me after you and Naruto had been out of chakra during that invasion. If I ever get my hands on that man…" I growled, trailing off as I walked into the closet.

"You know who attacked you?" Gaara followed.

"Yes, the legendary snake Sanin, Orochimaru. He didn't want me to ruin his plans. No one knows if he missed my organs on purpose or not," I sighed and felt Gaara's aura darken in anger. "Calm down Gaara, I'm alive and that's all that matters."

It took a few moments and his anger slowly receded. I knelt in front of my bags and opened the first bag and saw my old Shinigami uniform. I sighed as I trailed my fingers over the fabric and saw spots of blood from the man I had killed. I clenched my fists as the memory ran through my mind.

I felt my wolf surface and I froze in shock. I reigned in my anger and pushed her back into her cage.

"Karin…? Are you okay?" Gaara knelt in front of me.

"I think so…" I looked at my clenched hands and relaxed them reluctantly. "An old memory just ran through my mind.

"One that started to bring out the wolf?" he inquired, making me look at him.

"Yes," I muttered. I summoned my fire and let the clothes in my lap burn. "I got angry at the memory."

"I thought you had full control," he growled.

"I… I guess that I've been so relaxed and confident that she was locked away that my grip loosened…"

"Can I see your form again?"

I transformed suddenly and made myself into my pup form where I was not even two feet tall. I crawled into his lap and rested my head on his thigh. He chuckled and his hand came up to scratch between my ears.

"You're cute in this form, but nothing can truly compare to you, Karin," he whispered.

"_Thanks,"_ I thought to him and he jumped. _"Never had that reaction."_ I lifted my head and looked at his surprised face.

"You can talk in this form?"

"_It's more like thinking but yeah," _I laughed.

"Gaara, Chie?" Kankuro walked into the closet and froze, his eyes widening as he saw me.

"_What do you want ding-dong?"_ I thought to him and Gaara laughed hearing my greeting.

"…um…Chie?" he stammered.

"_My name is Karin. Why are you so surprised? You've seen my wolf form before," _I growled.

"I saw a gigantic wolf twice the size of a house that lifted up buildings, not a pup," he growled, recovering from his shock.

"_I can change my size anytime. It's a fun little perk I have."_

"What do you want Kankuro?" Gaara sighed.

"Lunch is ready," he smiled. "Do we need to get some puppy chow?"

I lunged at him and latched my teeth into his hand. He tried to shake me off but I didn't budge. I only released when I had a mouth full of blood. I trotted back to Gaara, while swallowing the warm liquid. I crawled into his lap and looked at Kankuro.

"_Let that be a warning for you. If you insult me in such a manner again, neither you nor I may know what may happen to your remains,"_ I growled.

Kankuro left and I shifted back to my human form while still in Gaara's lap. My back rested against his chest and my legs were folded Indian style. I stood up and took a breath.

"There's blood on your lips," Gaara smiled standing up.

I licked my lips as I looked at him and his eyes widened. "I take on unusual habits from being a wolf. There was a time when I was younger that I even though I had full control, I couldn't change back to my human form. It was like a jutsu was placed on me but I was in my world at the time so it was most likely some binding spell. I wonder how Kankuro is; I took a bit of blood."

We walked out of the room and walked downstairs while holding hands. When we entered the living room, Temari was wrapping Kankuro's hand. Kankuro stood up as I entered and he swayed.

"How lightheaded are you?" I smiled.

"You took a bit of blood…" he growled as his eyes narrowed.

"Serves you right," Temari growled. "You need to learn to watch that mouth of yours. Karin, you also need to watch yours."

"Whose side are you on?" Kankuro snapped.

"Mine," she smiled. "Time to eat."

Temari had made chicken sandwiches, but I wasn't really hungry. I ate about half a sandwich before leaving the table. I walked back to my new room and got into the shower. Afterwards, I dried off and put on a pair of black booty shorts and a black tube top that covered my whole torso before leaving the bathroom while drying my hair with a towel.

I sat on my bed and pulled out a book, _'Death Kills,'_ ANBU had brought from my apartment. It had always intrigued me because even thought it was fiction, it was about the world of Shinigami slaying hollows, plus a little romance. Either some Shinigami learned to jump worlds or Shinobi had an accurate imagination.

There was a knock on my door. "Come in," I called.

Gaara came in, he seemed unhappy. "What's wrong? You didn't eat much."

"Just wasn't hungry," I spoke, putting my book on the table next to the bed. "Care to take a nap with me?"

His face lightened up and crawled onto the bed. We laid down and I laid my head on his chest. His arms came around me and I closed my eyes, letting sleep conquer.

...

_I opened my eyes and saw myself in Soul Society. I was being escorted out of the Shrine of Penitence by four men dressed in white. I had a collar around my neck that ate at my Reiryoku and my hands were tied behind my back._

_I was led to Sokyoku's hill and placed on it's alter. Every Captain and Lieutenant of the Gotei 13 was there watching. Their faces blank as I was raised up to the cross beam and Kido Corps unsealed the blade. I started to struggle in my fear of being executed, even though my struggles were futile._

_The fire swirled around the Halberd and the phoenix revealed itself. It flapped it's wings and flew at me…_

_..._

I opened my eyes and bolted up into a sitting position, gasping for air. I was in the Shinobi world, with Gaara next to me. I ran my fingers through my hair and then hid my face in my hands. Gaara sat up beside me and the sun was starting to set.

"What is it?" he whispered.

I didn't respond as I took a shaky breath. I slid on a blue kimono type robe and walked onto the balcony, thinking. That dream would be my reality if I was found by Shinigami except I'd never have the chance to see inside the Shrine of Penitence. I'd be taken straight to the hill; I wouldn't get the trial for my treason.

"Karin?" Gaara growled, coming to me.

"I'll be fine," I whispered.

"What's wrong?" he pulled me to him.

"Bad dream," I sighed, resting my head on his chest.

"What was it about?"

"It's what would happen if I was found by my people. There we imprison people for crimes. Treason gets to meet the Sokyoku and their execution," I whispered.

"Sometimes I wish I could see your thoughts," he sighed and I laughed.

"Do you really wish to know inside my mind?" I looked up at him. I was smiling but I was serious.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	15. Meditations or schemes?

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: MEDITATION OR SCHEMES…?**

"Is it possible?" he looked at me intently and I nodded.

"If I do this then we will be bonded together until the end of our lives," I explained, pulling away and studied his reaction. Just like in the past, his face was a perfectly blank face with no emotions showing, not even in his eyes. "Just think about it for now. If we do this then not only would you know my mind, I would know yours," I whispered, walking past him.

I went into my closet and started putting things away so I could find things. It didn't take me very long to put everything away and I changed into a floor-length dress that had a square neckline and showed a little of my well-formed breasts. It was as white as snow with fur lining the long-belled sleeves and hem of the dress. Around my waist was a golden belt that was sewn into the fabric that went down the center of my dress to the fur at the bottom.

I walked out of the closet and saw that Gaara wasn't in my room anymore. I accepted that he might have not really meant that he wanted to know my thoughts and I appeared on the cliff above the gates and looked out over the desert. I pulled my hair over one shoulder and braided it as a breeze swirled around me.

I stayed there on the cliff for hours after the sun had finally set, feeling slightly lost and rejected just like I had feared in the beginning in being honest with Gaara. It started to get cold but it felt good since I didn't want to move…didn't know if I could face him if he was going to reject me.

I turned around to look at the village and saw him standing there. The wind swirled around us again and I forced myself to remain calm and emotionless on the surface. Inside, I was tormented and screaming.

"Karin, why are you out here alone?" he spoke, voice empty of emotion.

"I was just thinking," I smiled, walking past him towards the village.

"Karin," he growled, grabbing my arm as I passed. "What are you hiding?"

"Why does it matter?" I muttered, barely loud enough for him to hear. "We better get back to the house. Having you out here after dark isn't the greatest idea," I turned my voice into what I used in ANBU.

I pulled out of his grip and walked down the ramp to the village, not wanting to transport myself. Gaara followed and I felt that he was confused with my attitude. My mind was racing and I knew that I owed him an explanation but I couldn't talk. We walked through the village in silence and when we arrived at the house, I left Gaara there and transported to my room. I needed more time alone to think.

I turned on the lamp next to the couch and sat on the floor in the center of the room. I crossed my legs in an Indian-style and started to meditate to calm my confusion. I lasted for a few minutes before I let my mind go and I found myself looking out at Soul Society. Kuchiki Byakuya had been beaten by the orange-haired Ryoka and all the Shinigami had stopped their fighting.

Fifth squad captain Aizen Sosuke, Third Squad captain Ichimaru Gin, and Ninth squad captain Kaname Tosen had revealed their evil plans and entered the Hueco Mundo. I wished I had been there, that way I could have stopped them and the damage in Soul Society could have been lessened.

* * *

><p>I sat in the lab while father was out dealing with the ryoka. The computer started beeping for a third time and I rushed to it and started to track the pinpoint of the source of Karin's Reiryoka. The computer dinged as it targeted the source and a camera that was strapped to a building outside, moved and looked at the source. In the sky was a hole, surrounded by mist. I saw Karin through the mist and she was sitting on the ground somewhere meditating. Her eyes were open but completely silver.<p>

I had to find father...

* * *

><p>I returned to my body and blinked. Gaara was sitting in front of me, waiting. His face showed that he had been watching me for a while. I stayed silent waiting for him to say something so I could go to bed. After a few minutes of silence, I shifted myself so I was leaning against the couch.<p>

"What did you need, Gaara?" I whispered.

He looked at me for a few seconds, contemplating his words. "Do you know how long I've been sitting here?"

"No," I laughed with no humor. "Why?"

"You've been sitting there for the past hour, unmoving and unresponsive. Your eyes were completely silver and no matter what I did, you didn't do anything," he spoke coldly.

There was something in his voice that I couldn't place. Was it anger? Fear? I couldn't figure out why he was so cold at that moment. I blinked and looked down at my hands as they rested in my lap.

"I've seen meditation and that's not what you were doing. You seemed angry, sad, and happy all at the same time," his voice softened a little.

"Are you expecting an answer?" I scoffed.

"No," he whispered. "I want to know you better, Karin, and the only way to do that is definitely not to push you for answers I wish to know. I'm sorry for my rude behavior."

I stood up and sighed. "I haven't been the nicest either." I walked out onto the balcony and sat on the chair out there and looked out at the village.

"If I asked questions nicely, would you answer?" he asked sitting against the railing.

"It would have to depend on the question," I whispered, not looking at him.

"Okay, I work with that," he spoke. "Why'd you disappear to the cliffs?"

"I needed to think and I wanted a quiet place to do it," I smiled softly.

"May I ask what you were thinking about?"

My smile faded and I lowered my head so he couldn't see my face. "You… when I had come out of the closet and you were gone… I… I don't know… I felt as if I lost something…"

"Lost what?" I saw him take a step closer.

"You," I spoke almost inaudibly.

"Karin," he groaned as if in pain as he knelt in front of me. "Why would you think such a thing?"

"I thought that when you left that you really didn't want to really know me. I felt like I had lost you just by me not keeping my mouth shut," I whispered, refusing to look at him.

He sighed and sat back on the heels of his feet. "To be honest…? When you told me about that, I was overwhelmed. I left to go get a drink and when I came back you were gone. I had been looking around the village for hours before someone told me they saw you on the cliffs."

I choked on a laugh but looked at my hands, knowing that if I lifted them, they would have started shaking. I took a deep breath as he stood up and turned to look out at the village. It was quiet for a few moments while he shuffled through his thoughts.

"What were you doing when your eyes were silver?"

"Just now?"

I looked up at him and I saw that his hands were clenching the railing so tightly, his knuckles were turning white. I stood up and walked to him and pulled his hands off the railing and frowned as I made him relax them for the second time in less than a week.

"Why do you do that?" he laughed.

I looked up at him confused. "Do what?"

"Frown when my hands are like this?"

"I don't think that you should push down on yourself and burden yourself with stresses that you could get help with by others," I whispered, releasing his hands and turned so I could look out at the village as well.

"Will you answer the question I asked about your 'meditation' and the silver eyes thing?" he whispered.

"I've only done it once before…" I spoke, hesitant in answering. "I opened my mind and found myself looking over my world and the important things that happen when I'm connected to there…"

"When was the first time?"

"Right after I had gotten back from talking with the council. I told you about it," I whispered.

"Are you okay?" I felt him shift next to me.

"I should have been there… Three captains betrayed us to a higher evil. If I had been there, I could have…"

"If you had been there, you wouldn't have ever met me," he spoke gently, making me look at him. "Would you really create that bond if I had asked you?"

I stopped breathing as I saw the burning curiosity in his eyes. "You really want to be bonded to me forever?"

"I don't know anyone else that I would rather be with for the rest of my life," he smiled, caressing my cheek. "I want to know you and I don't think I'll ever pull away from you. You are amazing, you're talented, and you understand me a lot better than most people."

"If you're really willing to do this, I must go to my world and get the scrolls," I muttered, pulling away and sitting on the bed.

"No," he growled. "I won't let you forfeit your life just because of a scroll. Why didn't you say so before that the scrolls to do this weren't even here?"

"If I got in under the radar, I could get to the one who holds the scrolls for me. He is the only one who supported me and helped me escape when I became endangered," I explained.

"And how would you do that?" he growled.

"You have a jutsu that allows you to take on the form of another person. When I joined ANBU, they put me through hard core training to be able to do your techniques."

"I won't allow you to go," his face fell. "I can't lose you."

"Okay," I whispered, knowing that if he knew, I'd never go.

I held my hand out to him and he took it. I pulled him to the bed and we lay down. I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes, waiting for him to fall asleep and my plan was already rushing though my mind. If the first part went well, then the plan would be flawless. Soon his body relaxed under me and his breathing slowed.

I took my chance and snuck out of his arms and hurried into my closet. I changed into a simple black tunic and pants and pulled on knee-high black boots. I grabbed my zanpakto and quietly walked back across my room. On the balcony, I took one glimpse back at his sleeping form and then jumped across the roofs to the cliffs. I focused my mind then transported to the living world that was connected to Soul Society. I needed help if I wanted to get in completely undetected.

**Gaara's Point of View**

I opened my eyes and felt slightly cold even though the sun's rays were on my face. I sat up and found myself in Karin's room but she wasn't there on the bed where she had been last night. I walked downstairs and Temari was making breakfast and Kankuro was working on his puppets.

"Have you seen Karin this morning?" I asked as I walked into the living room.

Kankuro looked up confused and Temari stopped cooking.

"She's not in her room?" Temari asked confused.

"No, I was just in her room. We were talking late last night and fell asleep up there. Then when I woke up she wasn't there," I spoke.

"We haven't seen her since you two came home last night," Kankuro spoke.

I nodded and walked out into the village to ask around. A few people had seen a girl dressed in black jumping across the roofs late last night, but no one stopped her. I summoned my sand and appeared on the cliffs. They were empty except the few sentries.

"Lord Gaara, what are you doing out here?" one came over to me.

"Have you seen Karin?" I spoke.

"Karin… Oh, you mean Chie… Yeah she was here last night then just vanished into thin air. She had a very determined look on her face as if she was about to go into a battle or something," he laughed.

_No!_ I swayed and the sentry stabilized me. _She went after the scrolls! Damn it!_

"My lord, are you well?" the Shinobi broke my thoughts.

_Why Karin...why have you left me?Why couldn't you just see how I didn't need to be bonded to you to be able to know you and stay by your side forever?_

I was in shock and felt like I couldn't do anything, not even move a finger or my sand. The Shinobi got someone else over to us and they took me back to my house. Inside, Temari and Kankuro scrambled to their feet demanding what had happened. Kankuro took me to my room to lie down and Temari interrogated the two men.

My body felt numb…

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**

**Damn those Cliffies... **

**I would have added the past few chapters the other day but I wasn't exactly coherent from donating blood for the second time. Forgive me but I won't update for a day or so cause I have to go through and edit the next few chapters I have. Thank you for those who are still reading Across Worlds. **

**-OokamLover19**


	16. Recruiting Humans

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN: RECURITING HUMANS**

**KARIN'S POINT OF VIEW**

The Living World was a beautiful place, but definitely more technological than Soul Society and the Shinobi World. I had to find the Ryoka who had gone to Soul Society. Here, I was invisible to everyone except those who had a higher spiritual ability to see ghosts and Shinigami. I summoned up the spirit threads so I could find the orange-haired death god who was actually a human.

I followed his red thread and found myself at a school for teenagers. The boy was in a class room, laughing with some of the other students. Apparently their break had just ended and it was the first day of a new year. I looked around and caught the glance of the orange-haired kid. I walked over, jumping over desks and people to do it.

"Are you the one who just returned from Soul Society?" I asked.

He looked around and saw that only a couple people could see me and they were the ones from Soul Society. "Ishida, Sado, Inoue, come up to the roof for a minute," he spoke and the three, watching me, stood up and left. He motioned me to follow and we walked up and met up with the three others.

"Who are you?" the orange-haired turned on me.

"I go by Karin, I need your help," I spoke.

All four of them blinked in surprise.

"What kind of help and couldn't it have waited 'til the school day was over?" the girl asked.

"Unfortunately no," I sighed. "I need help to get to Soul Society but I cannot be seen or I'll end up like Kuchiki before you four intervened."

"Being executed by the Sokyoku?" the boy with glasses asked.

"Yes."

"I destroyed that thing," the orange-haired kid laughed.

"You underestimate the power of the Gotei 13. They will create another blade."

"What did you do that got you into enough trouble to be executed?" the boy with glasses asked.

"I need to know if you will help me. If you do, it would be greatly appreciated," I spoke, ignoring his question.

"What do you need help with?" the orange-haired kid asked.

"I need to get to a man called Zaraki Kempachi. He holds a few things of mine that I need," I whispered and the orange-haired kid choked. "I'm assuming that you've met him?"

"He almost killed me! Got a few wounds on him and that I won the battle so said his pink-haired kid," he exclaimed.

"Yachiru," I smiled. "Okay this is frustrating… What are your names, starting with you Quincy?"

"I am Uryu Ishida," the Quincy boy with glasses smiled.

"I am Yasutora Sado," the huge dark-skinned boy spoke.

"I'm Orihime Inoue," the girl smiled.

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo," the orange-haired kid spoke.

"Okay, be lucky you were able to bleed him. I've been sparring with him for years and haven't been able to leave a mark," I smiled. "Now, will you help me?"

"Sure, not like we'll miss much at the beginning of the year. You might want to go over and see Urahara and Yoruichi at the shop," Ichigo spoke.

"I don't know where that is," I hissed. "They keep themselves hidden really well."

"Okay then we'll take you. Although we should at least stay the first day since we're already here," Inoue spoke.

"Fine, but know that I don't have very long to get what I need from Zaraki," I sighed and they all nodded.

We walked back down to the class room right before the teacher came in. I sat in the window and waited for the day to start…

"Where are you? Come out quietly!" a voice yelled from outside. "Kurosaki Ichigo, I know you're in there! Quit hiding and come out!"

I froze as I looked out the window. Abari Renji was standing on the ground in a gigai wearing the most ridiculous clothing. Ichigo ran out of the class room and I followed carefully. Didn't want to lose what hope I had now by getting caught.

Ichigo ran into Renji and pushed him into a few shrubs and they were hidden from the windows. I snuck closer and hid behind a tree to hear their conversation.

"What the hell you panicked about?" Renji growled.

"Whadda you mean 'what'? What the hell're you doing here?" Ichigo yelled.

"It's my business where I go," Renji spoke looking past Ichigo near the area I was hiding. "You got no reason to pani-"

"Hell yes I do!" Ichigo got into Abari's face. "You yellin' like that…"

Renji stood up, stopping Ichigo's rant. "But man, it sucks bein' in a faux body." I couldn't help but giggle and the clearing where Renji and Kurosaki were went quiet. "Who's there?"

I froze and peeked around the tree I was hiding behind. Renji saw me and his eyes bulged. Since he already saw me I came out of hiding and walked closer, my hand hovering over the hilt of my zanpakto. Ichigo looked back and forth between the two of us, waiting to see what would happen. Personally, I was ready to fight and escape to live.

"Karin… what are you doin' here?" Renji's voice was soft.

"Why, are you going to tattle on me?" I hissed.

"No," he shook his head rapidly. "Everyone thinks you're dead… but Byakuya has maruyi building a machine to find a deserthorough a gate you went through. "

"I need Ichigo's help to get to Soul Society and to Zaraki and at least he doesn't knowwhere's I actually went," I whispered, walking closer.

"Your scrolls?" he guessed.

"Yes, I need to collect them before they get into the hands of the wrong people which is everyone but me," I explained.

"Renji, can you get her to Urahara so we can get preparations ready? Uryu, Sado, Inoue and I have agreed to help her," Ichigo spoke quickly.

"Sure, but you'll owe me later," he laughed. "Come on, Karin, I won't bite."

"I've heard that before and guess what happens, that person bites," I growled, joking around.

"Ah, that's my temperamental wolf," Renji laughed. "How is she by the way?"

"Locked away and perfectly harmless," I spoke. "Come, I am needed other places so I need to hurry."

"Always in a rush, Karin," he smiled as we walked away.

We hurried through the streets but couldn't go very fast with Abari being in a gigai. It took about a half hour to get to a beat up shop and Abari walked in smiling. We had talked the whole way, catching up on each other in the last four years.

"Abari, is this it?" I hissed, seeing two kids fighting over cleaning duty.

"Call me Renji, Karin, no need to use my last name," he laughed and nodded. "This is his shop. Oi, Jinta, where is Urahara?" Renji yelled and the young boy stopped picking on the girl and looked at us.

"He's in the basement," the red-haired child snapped.

"No, he is right here," a man came in with a bucket hat on. "My, my, you found a trouble maker."

"Urahara, we got things to do," Renji snapped. "Karin needs to get to Soul Society and Ichigo and his group agreed to help."

"You've done well to keep yourself hidden from the Gotei these past few years, little wolf," Urahara smiled, opening his fan. "Especially with that gate being build. Mayuri has his computers searching for your reiryoku."

"Great that means that this trip will becover dangerous," I snapped. "I need some of my things that Zaraki has kept hidden for me."

"Ah, well, I guess back down to the basement. Renji, go get the group and tell them that we can get them there as soon as they come," Urahara sighed. "Come Karin, I have some things to show you and for you to try after this escapade."

"Oo, yay, new toys," I smiled.

"Why don't I get new equipment?" Renji complained.

"Because you have connections, she doesn't," a large man came in carrying a few boxes.

"Tessai, come, back down into the pit," Jinta sighed.

I followed them into a cellar where there was another trap door and I followed curious. I saw a ladder descend into darkness before there was a small speck of light in the distance. I transported down to the bottom of the ladder and gasped. It seemed like there was a whole other world underneath the shop.

Sometime later, Urahara and Tessai finally joined me. I shifted into my full wolf and was surprised at how high the ceiling was. I couldn't even touch it if I had gone onto my back two legs. I stretched my limbs and laid down on my paws, enjoying the large area.

"Karin, you are truly a wonder to look at," Urahara called to me.

"_I'm not deaf, you don't have to yell at me," _I barked and he burst out laughing.

Tessai and Urahara got to work on some kind of gate and I napped, staying in my wolf form. It seemed like hours later when Ichigo and his friends came down. Inoue screamed when she saw me and I had to flatten my ears against my head from the sound. Urahara made a curse under his breath and I growled at him.

"Hey, Urahara, when did you get a mutated wolf?" Ichigo called.

I bared my teeth at him, acting like the animal I was. Renji came into view and laughed when he saw me. I stopped being cruel and shifted into a smaller size so I was as tall as Renji and I bounded over to him and knocked him over.

"Ugh," he muttered as I licked him. "I sometimes get annoyed by Okami."

"_Get used to it," _I barked. _"I'll be using a form close to this when we leave."_

"Karin, I need you now," Urahara called. "Stop acting like a mutt."

"_But I am a mutt,"_ I barked, padding over to him then changed into my human form.

The humans were in shock as they looked at me and couldn't even manage to get a proper word out of their mouths. Urahara and Tessai started concentrating their Reiryoku onto the gate. I stood in front of the gate as Ichigo and Renji got rid of their bodies and changed into Shinigami. I shifted again into the size of a pup as the gates opened.

"The bracelet will stay with you no matter what for you are in," Urahara smiled as he slid a golden bracelet around my front paw. It had a small wolf head that looked like it was eating the bracelet. "Since we're on their good side now, you'll be let in Seireitei near where the 13 squad building connect. Karin, don't worry about protecting them, worry about yourself And hide your reiryoku if you can. When you finish, come back some time Karin and we'll work with the new equipment that I have gotten a few weeks ago. Now get out of here."

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	17. Retrieving the Cursed Scrolls

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN: RETRIEVING THE CURSED SCROLLS**

We ran through the gate and entered Seireitei. I hid all my markings and changed my fur to white so I looked like an average wolf. We walked into an alley and I turned on the group.

"_Okay, here is how it's going to be. You'll follow my orders but when others around Renji will pretend to be ordering you around. If you are caught or questioned, tell them that Urahara said that there was a possible threat and told you to come and make sure that it wasn't a real threat. Got it?"_ I thought to them and they nodded. _"Good now let's find Zaraki. Ichigo if he starts to attack, which he probably will, l if you've beaten him once, only block and I'll get to him."_

"Okay, let's go," Ichigo whispered.

We hurried out of the alley and Renji took the lead and I was steps behind him. We ran through the streets as the sun was going down so they weren't very crowded and made it to the 11th Squad building in good time. Zaraki was sitting on the roof with Yachiru dangling on his shoulder like she usually did.

Zaraki saw us and jumped off the building and walked to us. Surprisingly, he didn't attack. As I studied him, he was depressed or something. His usually spiked hair just hung around his face and he wasn't armed.

"Abari, what brings you here…? Ichigo, I thought Yamatoto sent you back?"

"He did but we need to help someone who came to us," he spoke.

I padded forward and jumped onto his shoulder. _"You seemed depressed Zaraki,"_ I whispered for his ears alone.

"Neko?" he hissed, left eye darting around the streets. "Come inside, all of you."

They followed and Zaraki took us to his personal rooms so we could have some privacy. Ichigo, Ishida, Sado, Inoue and Renji sat on the floor and I sat on the bed in between Yachiru and Zaraki.

"What have you come here for, Neko? You risk death just to visit?" he hissed.

"_No, I need my bonding scrolls that I handed to you to protect,"_ I whispered, jumping off the bed and walked to the wall where I knew he had a hidden safe surrounded by his Reiryoku that possessed my scrolls.

"Found the right reason to use them then?" he asked as he stood up.

"_Yes, now, please. I don't have much time before people start to notice my Reiryoku," _I begged.

He pulled out the scrolls and put them in the bag that Renji had brought with him. I nodded and we hurried out of the building. Zaraki accompanied us to where the gate was usually opened and I spread my Reiryoku over the Ryoka so it looked like it was just Abari and Zaraki walking towards the gate. Zaraki gave some excuse that Renji had to come back and get some things and the Shinigami opened the gate, but not before someone came asking questions.

_"Ichigo, Inoue, Sado, Ishida, get going through the gate while you can. Renji, when I say, drop the bag and I'll get out of here before he can comprehend what's going on. Zaraki, will you be able to distract him for a few seconds?"_

Renji shifted his grip on the back as Zaraki nodded and started to head towards Byakuya.

* * *

><p>"She's in the city!" Nemu cried as I was about to leave the lab.<p>

"Where?" I snapped, turing to her.

"Give me a sec," she started typing rapidly. "Leaving the eleventh division. Abari Renji, Zaraki Kempachi, and it seems that there are four ryoka with her. She's headed towards the gate to the living world.

I nodded then ran out of the lab. I jumped over roofs to the gate. The gate opened as I arrived and I felt the Ryoka energy of Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Abari, what are you still doing here?" They turned and saw me striding towards them.

"I forgot some things," Renji lied quickly, "but I got it now."

"What could you have possible forgotten?" my eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Some books that Zaraki loaned me some time ago," he smiled, shifting his grip on the bag in his hand as if he was about to drop it. Zaraki gave on nod as if someone had been talking to him then started to walk towards me. I heard a small yip of a wolf and Renji dropped the bag and a pure white wolf jumped forward and grabbed the bag in its mouth. I shunpoed around Zaraki while drawing my sword and sliced the wolf's back leg as it disappeared.

* * *

><p>I transported to Gaara's house, shifted forms, and landed on the balcony in a heap when my leg gave out. I opened my bag and smiled, seeing both scrolls intact and sealed by my Reiryoku. I heard a scrambling up the stairs and I assumed that the siblings heard my landing and came to investigate.<p>

I stood up and limped to the closet and hid the bag and came back out as the door opened. Kankuro entered followed by Temari. I caught no scent of Gaara. The first thing that happened was Temari coming to me and slapping me across the face. I stumbled back, forcing myself to stay on my feet.

"How could you…?" she growled.

"Temari…" Kankuro grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away from me.

"She did this to him! She's hurting him by being here! I'll kill you…" she fought to get out of Kankuro's arms and tried to keep getting back to me. I stood there in shock at the rage that she had in her eyes as she struggled.

Slap! Kankuro's hand connected with Temari's face just like she had slapped me except that he was much stronger. Her cheek started to welt as soon as his hand left her face. Temari crumpled on the floor and Kankuro knelt by her.

"She doesn't even know," he whispered. "She couldn't have known what would have happened by leaving so suddenly, no one did."

"What's going on?" I asked, fearful.

Kankuro stood up and faced me. "Gaara has been ill for the past week. Since the day you left, he hasn't moved from his bed. He refuses to talk, eat or sleep. He screams at us every time we enter his room to try and comfort him."

"A week…?" I choked on air.

My leg gave out and I fell to my knees. Hot liquid ran down the side of my thigh and I heard it plop onto the floor. My injury did not matter though… because of my sudden disappearance he became sick and won't let anyone near him.

My breathing became slightly faster as I listened to a barely beating heart two stories below. A door opened and I winced as I heard Gaara screaming for whomever it was to get the hell out. I forced myself to stand and I walked out of the room and hurried downstairs as fast as my leg would allow.

The doctor was coming out of the hallway, face weary and full of anger when he saw me. I shoved past him and entered the room. He started screaming and I sighed and closed the door behind me. I walked to the bed and slapped him, stopping his screaming fit.

"Idiot," I hissed.

His eyes widened as he focused on me.

"I am a master strategist and my plan worked perfectly, they always do. Do you not have an ounce of faith in me?" I snapped.

"Karin…?" he stammered, shocked.

"Honestly, how is the Kazekage supposed to take care of his own village if he won't talk care of himself? Just because I left doesn't mean anything. I was coming back no matter what it took."

"Karin…"

I fell into a heap on the ground as my leg gave out and I cried out. My injured leg faced towards the ceiling, and I curled up into a tight ball as a wave of nausea passed through me, leaving me lightheaded.

I blinked and saw Gaara kneeling next to me, face horror-struck. Something touched my leg and I screamed, finally aware of the full pain. Gaara stayed there until my vision darkened and I was left into an abyss of darkness with no way to get out.

**GAARA'S POINT OF VIEW**

I knelt next to her and placed my hand on her leg, planning on helping her stand up but she screamed and I realized that my hand was covered in think warm liquid. I looked at her eyes and saw them darken before they closed.

I was weak from my week of numbed shock and couldn't lift her or stand on my own. Temari and Kankuro came in, shortly followed by Kitsul, the doctor, and gasped as they saw Karin unconscious, bleeding from her leg. I finally consented to be taken to the hospital but ordered to share a room with Karin.

The wound on her leg went from the outside of her left knee all the way up to her hip. They sewed her up and constantly changed the dressings. I was forced to have an IV in my arm since I was so weak and sick in my own ways. After a week of being hospitalized, I was back onto eating solids but Karin hadn't emerged from her coma yet.

I sat by her bed, and watched her as she struggled with the shadows. She had started to be violent in her coma and the doctors had to constantly sedate and restrain her. I ran my fingers down her arm and noticed a golden bracelet on her wrist. A wolf head had its mouth open and it looked like it was eating the bracelet. I touched it and I heard a growl from Karin.

"Karin, come back," I whispered. "I'm here and I won't leave you alone. Come back my precious wolf."

Her hand flexed under my hands and I looked up at her face. Tears were falling down her cheeks from half opened purple eyes that were streaked with silver. Her lips were slightly open and her breathing was irregular. I called for the doctor and they all were relieved. She was back to the world of the living and not trapped in darkness.

She stayed in the hospital for two more weeks for her leg to heal. She never said a word, only screamed at anyone who asked what happened to her, leaving her shaking and in a light sweat. It was hard to see her like this and I was glad when they finally decided to let her leave the hospital.

She refused to eat once we got her to the house and confined herself in her room. She sat on the balcony most of the time, silent and glazed silver eyes. She was, in a way, trapped to the world she once belonged to.

Eventually, after four weeks after her return, I decided that I needed to talk to her. I needed answers and there was only one way I was going to get them…force. She was hurting herself by hiding away from everyone.

"Karin," I called as I entered her room right after breakfast.

"Go away," she whispered, from her seat on the balcony.

"No," I growled. "You have to stop this! You are hurting yourself and everyone is worried about you. You haven't put anything in your mouth for the past month and haven't talked to anyone."

"I talked to Temari just the other day," she muttered.

"You screamed at her," I snapped, kneeling in front of her. "What happened? Why are you like this?"

"My world is in chaos again," she whispered, eyes looking out at the houses.

"Why did you do it?" I sighed. "I was okay with learning about you the harder way and then you have a hidden agenda and sneak away from those who care about you."

She remained silent and refused to look at me.

"Why?" I snapped, angry that she wouldn't ask a simple question

"The scrolls…in anyone else's hands they're the worst weapon that could have possibly been created. I had to get them, even if I didn't bond us; I had to get them to a place where they could be safe."

"How would they be weapon?"

"_Read it straight,_

_You choose their end._

_Reverse those words,_

_You can make amends._

_Read them right,_

_You have no choice,_

_But read them left,_

_You hear their voice."_

Her eyes went distant as she spoke the rhythm. "I created them for good, but then I learned the hard way that it is a two-type technique. I have lived my life hiding the worst secret anyone could ever have. The curse is the fastest way to get the worst blood bath that could be imagined."

"What happened? Did you use the curse?" I spoke in shock.

"Yes," she whimpered, closing her eyes.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	18. New Demons

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: NEW DEMONS**

"Back then, I didn't even understand what I had created. I killed hundreds…thousands…" tears fell "My people thought that a plague of spirits that even they couldn't see had hit the city, one that attacked the outside and worked in… This curse used invisible blades and did what my people thought the evil spirits, called hollows, did. It attacked everyone I saw for three days. That was before I was called to the Gotei."

I sat on my butt, shocked by her words. It became quiet as I processed what she had said. Scrolls that attacked everyone and anyone as soon as it was released, it was horrifying.

"Why not destroy them?" I forced out.

"Because I knew that there was another purpose in me creating those scrolls," she smiled softly as she opened her eyes and looked up at the sky. "I was not that cruel to create a killing scroll. The reason I can talk to people when I'm Okami is those scrolls. I bonded myself with her." She stood up and limped inside and laid on the bed.

"What happened to your leg?" I asked standing next to the bed.

"Someone who didn't care if I looked like a harmless animal and followed every rule set, decided to attack me because he saw a wolf snatch a bag and escape," she whispered as she rolled away from me, ending the conversation.

I walked downstairs as Temari finished cleaning up breakfast.

"How did it go?" Temari whispered, seeing me come in.

"She had more than just one reason to retrieve what she needed," I sighed. "I still don't get why she is hiding though."

"And her leg?" Kankuro hissed.

"An aristocrat did it," I growled.

"Why is she not eating?" Temari snapped.

"She ended the conversation before I got to that question. Although come to think of it…I mentioned it and she ignored it," I sighed.

"She was shocked when we had told her that she had been gone a week," Kankuro whispered. "That or she was shocked when Temari…"

"Shut it, Kankuro," Temari snapped.

"When Temari what?" I growled.

"Don't worry about it," Temari growled.

"Temari shut it!" I snapped, looking at her and she cringed. "Kankuro answer me."

"She attacked her," Kankuro sighed. "She was furious that you were like that and she took it out on Karin. I think she even screamed that she'd kill her."

I turned my eyes on Temari and she was trembling.

**KARIN'S POINT OF VIEW**

I sat up in bed, feeling very uneasy. Downstairs there were the sounds of struggles. I scrambled out of bed and got downstairs, wondering what was going on. Gaara was being held back by Kankuro and Temari was trembling. She was frozen in place as sand swirled around her.

I scrambled to the siblings and saw something lingering in Gaara's darkening eyes, trying to take over. I hurried to Temari and pulled her out of the room. We ran down the streets, trying to get away from the wrath of Gaara.

"What happened?" I snapped, pushing Temari faster.

"Kankuro told him about when you first arrived back here and I had hurt you," she gasped. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," I growled. "I think that some of his beast is still there."

"Shit," she growled. "What do we do?"

"Once through the gate, keep running. I will hold him back and see if I can get Gaara to calm down."

"You know that none of this would have happened if you had just stayed or didn't go all depressed once you returned!"

"I know," I whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear.

We ran into startled villagers 'til I started yelling at them all to move out of the way and the message was passed on. It took a few minutes before we reached the gate. Temari kept running and I stopped 50 feet outside the gate and waited for Gaara, even though I was unarmed. Temari was safe and that was all that mattered for the moment besides calming down an angered Gaara. I was not going to let this world suffer the wrath of a former host who might still have some of his beast.

Moments later, Gaara came out of the gate and ran at me, eyes pitch black. I braced myself and as he collided with me, I transported us to the cavern below Urahara's shop. We flew right past Urahara and Tessai then collided with a rock face. I struggled with him to pin him down and I felt pain in my lower back..

"Urahara, knock him out!" I cried.

He scrambled to us and wacked Gaara in the neck with his cane and he went limp. I stood up shakily and stumbled back a few steps before sitting back down on my butt. I got my breathing under control and noticed that the pain in my back was intensifying. I moved my arm behind me and touched my back and growled. A kunai was embedded in my lower back. I ripped it out and sighed.

"My, my, what have you gotten into Karin?" Urahara laughed as he picked up the bloodied kunai blade.

"An enraged leader, that's what," I laughed. "Funny thing is he was mad at his sister, not me."

"Well, while you're here, we should teach you how to use that bracelet," he smiled.

We got working right away and I pulled off my tunic so I could not have so many layers on. I stood in a tube top that covered only my upper torso and black pants. I pulled off my boots so I was bare foot and I was ready to train.

Over the next span of time, since we couldn't tell time in the cavern, I worked with the bracelet that controlled five elements: fire, water, air, earth, and crystal. I mastered water, air and earth by the time Gaara finally came around. I was working on fire when we all realized that he was up. I had managed to create a fire shield as Urahara attacked and I heard a growl from behind me. I spun just in time to stop Gaara from attacking Urahara; his eyes were completely black again that you couldn't really see were the black around his eyes began and ended.

"Gaara, stop!" I begged. He struggled to get past me. While holding him back with one arm, I rammed my knee into his gut. "STOP!"

He froze and his eyes turned back to their teal green. He stumbled back a few feet and I stood in front of Urahara just in case. The cavern became quiet except my labored breathing. Urahara pulled out his fan and acted nonchalant.

"Gaara, are you done?" I spoke harshly.

He looked up at me confused. "What's happened? Where are we?"

"You almost killed Temari for losing control over her anger at me. Then you attacked me and I had to bring you here so you wouldn't destroy your people. We knocked you out and since then I've been training," I explained, walking towards him.

"I…attacked you?" his voice was horrified.

"Yes, but from what I can figure out, you were possessed by something," I whispered, kneeling in between his legs.

"Well, I'm going to go get some air," Urahara spoke. "Come up any time and we'll get you something to eat."

He disappeared and Gaara and I were alone in a very intimate position. I stood up and turned my back on him and started walking towards the ladder. I couldn't be alone with him, not after all that I put him through once I returned from the Scroll mission.

"Karin, what happened to your back?" Gaara stood up and came to me.

I had let the wound sit and never took care of it. The blood had dried down my back but it didn't bother me. "You," I whispered as I stopped walking. "Outside the village, I held my ground to protect Temari. When we started to fight, I guess you had a kunai in your hands."

"I don't remember any of this," he whispered as his hands touched my lower back.

"I wouldn't expect you to, especially when whatever it was, took over you," I whispered, wrapping my arms around my stomach. "Come, Urahara will have something to eat. We've been down here for some time."

"Karin?" the raw pain in his voice, making me look at him. "I'm sorry. I remember that before I said that I would never force things from you and then I did. I just felt so helpless when you left and returned. As if I didn't fit into your life," he whispered, looking at the ground.

"Gaara," I sighed and walked to him. "I want you in my life, believe me on that. It may take time for us to adjust and it's my fault if anyone's, about all the anger between us and your siblings. It was my fault that you had become bed-ridden. And don't feel too bad when you pushed for the answers about the scrolls. You of all people needed to know the truth."

I placed my hand on his cheek and made him look at me. I wanted to cry at the haunted look I saw in his face at that moment and I moved closer to him. I kissed his cheek and then laid my head against his chest and we stood that way for a while.

"I should have told you my plans," I mumbled as I felt his hand run up and down my back.

"Don't ponder over the past. It's over and there is nothing we can do to change it now," he breathed.

"Wow, Urahara was right. There was a sight to see down in this cavern." A voice came towards us and I lifted my head to see who the intruder was.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	19. Traitors?

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: TRAITORS…?**

I lifted my head off Gaara's shoulder to see who the intruder was and saw Renji and Ichigo. They were in their Shinigami uniforms with their swords drawn.

"I hope you didn't get into too much trouble," I spoke.

"Nah, Byakuya thought that you were just a stray animal that got through the gate and took the bag. He thinks the 'books' that I borrowed were in there and I just acted sad and got away with it. It definitely was a brilliantly thought up plan," Renji smiled, but I saw the lie that he didn't want to say. Byakuya had been on to us from the moment we had entered the city.

"I told you I was a master strategist," I smiled looking at Gaara.

"Yes I remember," he smiled. "You had yelled at me about it went you returned before blacking out."

"So, my temperamental wolf, who is this?" Renji sheathed his zanpakto and walked closer.

"This is Lord Gaara, one of the five leaders of the country we're living in," I smiled. "Gaara, this is Abari Renji and that is Kurosaki Ichigo. They helped me retrieve my scrolls."

He nodded his head, but had a thought cross his mind. "This Byakuya that you mentioned... Is he the aristocrat that sliced you?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "You do catch on quick."

"Byakuya hurt you?" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Yeah, sliced my leg as I was transporting back to Gaara's home," I explained as I slid up my pant leg be able to show them the healing skin.

"Damn!" Ichigo cursed. "Well Urahara said that we should be careful when we came down. Said there was an unstable host and we see you two. So…which one of you is unstable?"

"I don't think so," I growled, stepping in front of Gaara. "You will not touch him."

"Karin, this host almost killed you!" Renji growled as he drew his zanpakto, not believing that I was taking Gaara's side.

"I'm right here and if you want to blame someone for almost killing me, blame your precious captain," I snapped, touching the head of my golden wolf, summoning ice by mixing two elements.

"Byakuya is a good captain and follows the law, unlike some," he growled. "I can't believe that I helped you behind his back."

"Gaara's beast was taken out; if anything I'm the dangerous one. Are we really going to do this?" I hissed.

"You need to move," Ichigo growled putting both hands on his sword.

"Stand down, both of you! I am higher ranked than you!" I snapped.

"You have no rank since you're a traitor!" Renji snapped, his sword going into shikai.

"Very well then, I guess you've finally got brainwashed. Gaara call your sand and stay out of the way. This won't end well if I have to keep you in sight."

"Be careful," he whispered, kissing my hair then called his sand.

The dance began as both men ran at me. I shot ice at them as I retreated a few steps. They lunged from opposite sides and I ducked and they hit each other's blades. I ran towards the ladder, knowing that Urahara had a weapon stash near it. I pulled out twin katanas and ran at them.

The fight looked like a perfectly choreographed dance. Blades against blade, body shoved into body. I felt my wolf rise and I felt my eyes change as nails lengthen and sharpen. Renji and Ichigo got my swords away from me and I felt a growl rise. I extended my claws and lunged at Renji and dug my claws into both arms, rendering him finished in the battle. I spun on Ichigo and was about to lunge went Urahara stopped me.

"Karin put Okami back in her cage!" Urahara was coming towards us.

I grabbed Ichigo's sword and flung it across the cavern so no one held a weapon. My clawed retracted but I didn't bother shoving her in her cage because it had been all me. She hadn't wanted to kill them. I took a deep breath and locked my anger away as Urahara reached us.

"Put her away," he growled.

"She wasn't the one who held the anger," I whispered. "She only lent me strength. The anger was mine."

"What happened?"

"They wanted to kill Gaara just because you said he was unstable," I snapped.

"Where is he?" Urahara looked around.

"Hiding," I smiled.

"Ok. So insults were from both sides of this fight and you defeated them," Urahara studied us. "Renji is the only one bleeding and Karin used two unfamiliar swords. What a day."

"She's a traitor," Renji growled as Ichigo helped him stand.

"She's no more a traitor than me or Yoruichi," Urahara snapped. "Be nice or I'll cut you away from your Shinigami powers. Ichigo help him upstairs and Tessai will take care of the mauling. Karin, bring Gaara up and we'll get some food for you. No one will touch you or Gaara."

They went up and I let out a deep breath. Gaara released his sand and it went back into his gourd. He came to me and pulled me into his arms. I looked at him and smiled as I relaxed.

"That was an amazing fight," he smiled as one hand cradled my cheek.

"Thank you," I smiled and kissed his soft lips. "Come, I'm starting to get hungry."

I grabbed the two swords and put them back where I had found them the climbed up the ladder. Gaara followed closely and when we got upstairs, the sun was gone which meant we had been down there for a while. We walked into the kitchen and sat down quietly. We ate quietly as Renji stared daggers at us. Afterwards, Urahara dragged Gaara and I back down the ladder.

"Karin, take these katanas since you earned them in that fight. They are not zanpakto but they are good weapons. If you ever need help, come back. The last two elements I taught you the basics so is up to you to finish mastering them. You probably should go, before Renji has a heart attack or a Shinigami decides to check in," Urahara smiled.

"Thanks for everything. I really appreciate it," I smiled before grabbing Gaara's hand and transported back to the village. It was maybe close to midnight. "You think you can forgive Temari?"

"Yeah," he breathed. "I'm sorry again for hurting you."

"Its healed already," I smiled at him as we walked through the gate. "We're probably going to get scolded for disappearing like that since it looks like we've been gone a while."

He laughed, wrapping his hand around mine as we walked through the streets. "Yeah, but some might not know I had been taken over."

"No but I'm sure they saw the kunai as you ran after two defenseless women," I pointed out.

"You could never be defenseless, but Temari can," he whispered. "Let's go see how long we were gone."

"Lord Gaara!" a few Shinobi ran to us. "What happened to you?"

"He had been possessed by a spirit that brought him into a rage so I took him somewhere where nothing or no one would be hurt," I spoke quickly. "If I hadn't acted quickly, the spirit would have used his sand to destroy this village."

"What kind of spirit would be capable of this besides Jinchuuriki?" one growled.

"There are some spirits that roam the lands with vengeance and will use humans out of their hatred. Jinchuuriki are sealed in humans," I explained. "Now, lord Gaara needs sleep. How long have we been gone?"

"Three days," the first Shinobi replied.

"We have been fighting the spirit and haven't had any sleep since we left. Come," I spoke then pulled Gaara away from the confused men.

"That was quick thinking," Gaara breathed.

"It's true," I sighed. "There are some spirits that roam the lands. But they don't go into humans. We call them hollows or the empty ones. They are the creation of lost souls who have never been set free."

"So lies within truths," he stated.

"Yes," I spoke, smile gone as I pulled him inside his house.

"Gaara!" Kankuro came to us. "What happened? Temari had come back in hysterics saying that you had disappeared and Karin took the full impact of you hitting her."

"We're not exactly sure except that I was possessed by something," Gaara spoke. "Where's Temari?"

"In her room… Karin, what happened to you?"

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	20. Mating of a Wolf

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Beware there is a lemon in this chapter!**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER NINETEEN: MATING OF A WOLF**

"It's what happens when you have to take care of a spirit possession. Go get some rest, Gaara I'll be there in a few minutes." I waited for Gaara to get into his room. "All we know is that Gaara was possessed and his eyes turned black," I whispered. "I'm going to have to do a few tests. Whatever it was is still inside of him."

"Like what?" Kankuro whispered as his eyes widened.

"I'm going to have to get some fresh blood and also a type of meditation to get into his mind. Don't tell him anything, he doesn't even know anything except that he may have been possessed. It wasn't the Shukaku, that's for sure. I need to know what happened though."

"Alright, I'll get the doctor here in the morning and get some blood for you," Kankuro whispered. "Gaara won't like this if he figures out that we know something he doesn't."

"Yes, let's hope he doesn't," I breathed.

I walked up to my room and grabbed a pair of white shorts and tube top that covered my whole torso then went down to Gaara's room so I could keep an eye on him. He was already sleeping so I went into his bathroom. Leaving the door open a little, I hopped in the shower to get the blood off.

It was a quick shower and as soon as I was down, I wrapped myself in a towel and decided to put on some lotion on my skin. I sat on the edge of the tub and pulled my leg in front of me and proceeded to moisturize my legs. As I started moisturizing my other leg, Gaara came into the bathroom, shirtless, and froze. I was still in a towel and my hair was around me, dripping water from the ends.

I went back to finishing rubbing in the lotion as he came closer. I forced myself not to blush from the embarrassment of him finding me like this. I stood up and rung the water out of my hair. Gaara was leaning against the cabinet counter, mouth slightly open as he watched me.

"What did ya need?" I smiled.

"I woke up to the shower running," he breathed.

"I didn't mean to wake you but I thought showering in here would be easier to be able to keep an eye on you," I spoke, smile fading a little.

"Don't be sorry," he smiled, grabbing my waist and pulled me closer.

"Gaara… I need to get dressed," I stammered. This was a lot more intimate than normal since I wasn't even in clothes.

He leaned forward and purred in my ear, "No you don't."

"Gaara…" he didn't give me anymore time to speak.

*******LEMON STARTS*******

His lips came onto mine and kissed me so roughly that I moaned. He took that moment to shove his tongue inside my mouth. One of his hands stayed on my waist and the other slid down and squeezed my butt under the towel. I gasped in surprise but pulled myself closer to him.

One of my hands slid up to his neck while the other slid down and hovered over the edge of his pants. I felt him get hard against my lower stomach and I smiled against his lips. This would be the night…

His lips came down my chin to my neck and I moaned as he kissed the hollow spot just above the center of my collarbone. He chuckled and picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to the bed.

My towel disappeared and Gaara straddled me. He kissed, sucked and bit my breasts. He pulled my legs away from his waist and one of his hands came to tease the area around my opening. I writhed as he hit a certain spot and he went over it again. I growled and opened my eyes to look at him as he pulled away from my breasts.

He had the most mischievous gleam in his eye as he looked at me and he shoved just one finger inside of me. He pumped his finger in and out slowly at first then added another finger and got faster. A third finger joined and I felt my release coming. I writhed as I came around his fingers.

He pulled out of me and licked his fingers clean. He lowered his head down and his tongue snaked out around my opening, tasting me. I moaned and closed my eyes as he started to suck on me. I growled again and he came up and kissed me, I could taste myself as I plunged my tongue inside his mouth.

I slid my hands down his chest and unbuttoned his pants and slid down his zipper. I slid my hand inside the fabric and noticed that he didn't have anything between his pants and flesh. I wrapped my fingers around him and rubbed him. His lips left mine and he went to kiss and bite my neck as I pumped his appendage. His breath came out in a shudder as I played with his tip.

"Off," I hissed as I tugged at his pants and he obeyed.

As soon as he was leaning over me again I rolled us so I was on top and brought my tongue to his dick, leaving no area untouched. He was well endowed with width and length. I brought him into my mouth and sucked as I played with his sacks. He moaned and I lifted my eyes to his face. His eyes were closed and his mouth was opened slightly. I sucked on him harder and he came in my mouth. I swallowed and licked him clean before moving to kiss his chest.

"You like teasing me don't you?" his voice was rough and I laughed.

I closed my lips on one of his nipples and sucked hard then bit down. My teeth elongated and I gasped as my beast wanted to come play. She liked Gaara and wanted to be there for the connection.

"Karin?" his voice even though it was rough, was filled with worry.

I looked up at him and he stiffened. "She won't come out," I breathed. "She just wants to watch."

He nodded and I went and sucked on his other nipple. I straddled him and felt him against my stomach a little wet. I came up and kissed him deeply and he squeezed my butt again before entering a couple fingers into me. He rolled on top again and pulled back to look at my face as he positioned himself at my entrance.

I nodded giving him consent.

He plunged into me and hit my wall as he shoved all of himself inside me. I cried out and writhed against him. He groaned as my walls tightened around him as he pulled back. My eyes changed completely and I let out a growl of pleasure. He plunged back in, making me writhe again. There was as much pain with his size as there was pleasure.

He started to move his hips faster and I moved with him as we found a fast, but steady, pace. His leaned over me and kissed me as his hands squeezed my breasts. Okami decided to start talking to me as Gaara kissed me deeply.

'_**Mark him as you would a mate,"**_ she growled.

"_I'm not a wolf,"_ I snapped.

"_**Then let me take over and I'll make him ours,"**_ she snapped.

"_What if he doesn't want that?"_

"_**He wants you to use the scrolls to bond you two. Trust me, he'll want it. Plus, we'll get to taste his blood."**_

"_Tell me what to do,"_ I smiled. _"I want to be the one to do it, not you."_

She pushed all the instructions into my mind and I smiled. I brought a hand up and tangled my fingers into his hair and pulled his lips away from mine and exposed the perfect line of his neck. I leaned forward and kissed the spot where his pulse was.

"I'm going to mark you as mine as a wolf would a mate," I hissed.

His response was to shove into me harder than before. That made me writhe in pain and I plunged my teeth into his neck. As I drew blood, we both came and I sucked on the wound. The hot liquid rushing down my throat made me growl and Gaara move even faster. I pulled away after a few seconds and watched the blood well up at the wound.

Finally after a while, Gaara's pace started to become unsteady and slower as he grew tired. I wanted to keep going, but knew he needed rest after I had marked him. He collapsed on top of me and rolled us so we were on our sides and he fell into blissful unconsciousness without removing himself from me.

"_**Now there will be nothing that can break us apart,"**_Okami sighed as she crawled back into her cage. I agreed with her as I drifted off.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	21. Blood Tests

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TWENTY: BLOOD TESTS**

**GAARA'S POINT OF VIEW**

*******SMALL LEMON*******

I shifted when I woke, making Karin writhe around me. Her walls clenched around my half-hard cock that was still inside her and I hissed in pain and pleasure. By tightening her walls, I became painfully hard again. I looked at her and she opened slightly blurred eyes. I thrusted inside her and she gasped, opening her eyes all the way.

"Too early," she spoke huskily.

I pulled out of her and she writhed and cried out loudly. I kissed her, silencing her cries, but it was too late. The sounds of someone getting out of bed and scrambling down the stairs brought us to our senses.

Karin was the first to act and scrambled out of the bed and ran into the bathroom as someone scuttled down the hall to my room. I pulled the covers over me just as the door opened. Kankuro came in, face empty of his normal make-up, and had an interesting look on his face as he took me in, propped up on an elbow in bed.

"What?" I growled.

"I heard Karin," he frowned as he looked around the room. "Sounded like she was in pain or something..." His eyes came back to me and bulged. "Did an animal bite you or something?"

I touched my neck and winced. I looked at my fingers and saw some blood. Karin said she was going to mark me as 'mate' as animal terms went. Well, she had a wolf spirit inside her.

"Get out of here. It's too early to be worrying about anything," I growled.

"Don't worry about it?" he growled back. "Whatever it was took a piece of you with it!"

Temari came in, blurry eyed and confused at all the noise. "What the hell is everyone doing up at the crack of dawn?"

"Gaara got himself bit by something," Kankuro snapped and Temari studied me.

"GET OUT, BOTH OF YOU!" I yelled, summoning sand from my gourd from across the room. They scrambled out and I used the sand to close the door and lock it.

I stood up and walked into the bathroom as Karin turned on the shower. I studied her petite form and smiled as I felt my cock harden again. She looked at me and I saw some blood on her lips.

"Damn, I did take a piece of you," she muttered as she looked at my neck.

I looked in the mirror and studied my neck. At first, my brain didn't comprehend what I saw but as I kept looking, I saw that it looked like an animal had bitten me. I chuckled and walked to Karin, who had her mouth slightly open as she studied me.

"You are kind of an animal," I chuckled as I kissed her brow. "Come lets clean up."

I smiled and pulled her into the shower. I ran my fingers through her hair under the shower head. She leaned her head forward and I laughed at her. As soon as I finished washing her hair, she turned and grabbed a wash cloth and started to wash my neck gently. I hissed once as she directly touched the wound as she washed away the blood.

"Sorry," she muttered when she was done.

"Don't worry about it, it will heal. I am yours now," I whispered in her ear and her body trembled. She smiled as she looked at me and I felt her fingers caress my cock. "Please don't tease me."

"Aww," she pouted as she squeezed me.

I groaned and kissed her deeply before pulling away and hopping out of the shower. I wrapped a towel around myself as she got out and wrapped herself. She grabbed a pile of white and walked out of the bathroom and into the closet. I watched her dress, smiling before pulling on my clothes.

*****END LEMON*****

"Gaara?" Temari knocked on the main door. "The doctor is here."

I saw Karin tense a little before she relaxed. I frowned and left the room to talk to Temari. Once I opened the door, I saw pure fear in her eyes.

"Relax, Temari. I won't hurt you. Karin told me what happened and I'm sorry," I spoke as Karin came out of the closet.

She nodded to Temari then disappeared from the room and appeared down the hallway and I saw her talking to Kankuro in hushed voices. My brother's eyes flashed to me a second before he walked out of view. They were hiding something from me.

"What was that about?" Temari frowned as she looked at Karin.

"No idea, but I will find out," I hissed.

"Later, the doctor is waiting in the living room. Have him bandage your neck while he does his tests," Temari sighed, pulling me out of my room.

I undid my tunic as we walked down the hall to make things fast. He checked vitals like normal and when I showed him my neck, he chuckled. I frowned when he drew twice as much blood as usual. Soon the tests were done and he put away his tools.

"Why the extra blood?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Just some extra tests this time," he spoke but I could tell he wasn't telling the full truth. "Kankuro, help an old man back to the hospital."

"Yes, sir," Kankuro hurried over and carried his bag as they left.

Temari made breakfast but didn't eat much as she pulled on a borrowed Kazekage cloak and left to help settle the village. That left me and Karin alone for a bit. I walked up to her room and saw her actually meditating. As soon as I walked in and closed the door, she stood up and smiled at me.

"I have a question," I spoke, crossing my arms over my chest.

She cocked her head to the side. "What's up?"

"What are you and Kankuro hiding from me?" I growled and her eyes widened just a tad.

"What are you talking about?" she recovered quickly.

"Don't act like I'm stupid, Karin, I saw you two talking earlier. You are definitely hiding something," I snapped and she winced.

"I asked Kankuro to get me some of your blood," she spoke after a minute.

"Why?"

"To make sure the mating went properly," she smiled. "I didn't want to have you worry too much."

I looked at her and studied her expression. I saw the sincerity in her eyes but I also saw a hint of fear. She spoke truth. I nodded and brought her into my arms. Kankuro came back and Karin pulled me out of her room. She pulled me to my room and told me to lie down and rest from all the blood loss.

**KARIN'S POINT OF VIEW **

I left him in his room and exhaled as I walked up to Kankuro's room to get the blood. I knocked and he opened seconds later. He let me in and pointed to a small bag on the couch.

"He knows something's up," I breathed. "He asked me about when you and I talked earlier. I told you not to look at him."

"Did you tell him?"

"Not about the beast thing. I told him I needed some of his blood to figure out if my bite did anything to him," I laughed softly. "He bought it but he may be a little suspicious."

"What... You took the chunk out of his neck?" Kankuro blinked.

"Yes, who else would be in his room?" I smiled. "I _am_ the host of a wolf."

"What exactly where you two doing?" his eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure you want to know, _brother_?" I hissed through a full-out grin.

"Ugh, get out," he groaned, covering his ears.

I grabbed the bag and went up to my room. I pulled out the vials and saw that Kankuro delivered…two vials of plasma and three vials of blood. In truth I had needed to check the new bond between us, but I did need to figure out of he still had some lurking beast.

I poured out the blood and swirled them into the air before me. I smiled as I saw the formations and was glad that the mating had gone well. I pulled the blood back into the vial and looked at the other vials. I hesitated over the plasma vials, not really wanting to know the answer. I sighed and spread the plasma before me. The Shukaku was gone, but there was something there.

I sank to my knees, afraid of what truth I would find if I drank the clear liquid. I swirled the plasma around me and dripped it into my mouth. Images pulled me into darkness and I felt lightheaded. I studied the distorted forms around me and stiffened.

_**There was the form of a demon in front of me, his eyes black and hair like open flames streaked with black. His claws were about half a foot long and you could see the cords of his muscles as they protruded. He had black leathery wings and horns on top of his head. Along his abdomen was a type of seal someone would do for a Jinchuuriki.**_

_**"Karin," the image whispered. "I've wondered when we'd meet properly. I'm sorry for attacking you before."**_

_**"So it was you," I breathed. "Who are you?"**_

_**"A part of Gaara he locked away, his inner monster that even the Shukaku feared. He hid me as deep as he could until we met you. A few people have a true monster inside of them and Gaara is one of them. Once I saw how you protected Temari after Gaara lost control of me, I lost so much anger. The pain I saw..."**_

_**"What does that mean?"**_

_**"It means that your actions calm me," he smiled. **_

_**"Are you going to be a danger to everyone?" I snapped. **_

_**"As long as you never **__**leave unless you warn us and you come back," he whispered before the world of darkness faded.**_

I came back to my senses and coughed for air. I was on my knees surrounded by broken glass and blood, one vile of blood had survived. I had crushed the vials when I went into the darkness. I looked at my hands and saw blood welling up. I hurried to the bathroom and washed my hands before I got infections from the glass. My hands had a few shallow and deep cuts.

"Karin?" Kankuro's voice came into the room. "What the...? Karin!"

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	22. A Package Arrives

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: A PACKAGE ARRIVES**

"She escaped, didn't she?" Mayuri smirked as I stormed into his lab, my zanpacto still covered in blood.

"If you had blood from her, would finding where she is go faster?" I snapped.

"Yes, but are you sure that is Karin's blood?"

"Do a test and figure it out," I spoke calmly as I set my blade on a table.

"Alright alright," Mayuri sighed and came to the table and swabbed the blade.

Mayuri motioned me to follow and we went deeper into the lab. He smeared the blood on a scanner and started the tests. I crossed my arms and drummed my fingers on my arm, immpatient. The computer beeped then I saw Karin's file appear.

"My, are we lucky today," Mayuri smirked. "This will make things a lot faster."

He started to type on the keyboard and then I saw geographical charts show up. I nodded once then left the lab to head back to my own district.

"Captain Kuchiki!" renji's ran towards me as soon as I entered the building. "I have news on Karin!"

"Report," I ordered.

"Ok so you know I was in the livin world to help ichigo." I nodded and he continued, " Okay, I went to the shop to find him and saw her with some guy. She said he was a leader somewhere but didn't say where. At one point he had some beast in him but is gone now and he controls sand."

"Excellent, Mayuri is scanning for her now from the blood I caught from her. Soon we will have her."

* * *

><p>"Karin...!"<p>

"In here," I called through the bathroom door.

"What happened?" kankuro came in and saw my hands.

"I'm not sure," I whispered. "He has something lurking inside, an inner demon of sorts. It looked like some kind of mutated demon but held such anger. He said that the Shukaku feared him."

"Really, that's what happened? What do we do?"

"He told me that I've calmed down lots of his anger," I whispered as I turned off the water.

Kankuro went to grab some medical bandages and I wrapped both hands in a towel. He came back sometime later and I heard the door being locked. When he came in the bathroom, I lifted my hands out of the towel and they were already healing.

"Is Gaara still sleeping?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Good, I don't want him to know this discovery ever."

"We need to clean up that blood. What happened?"

"I think I grabbed them too tightly as I made contact with the inner demon," I whispered. "Go make sure Gaara doesn't come upstairs and I'll clean up."

He nodded and left.

I walked out and called water and washed away the blood and used air to pick up the glass and dry the carpet. I threw the glass away as there was a knock on the door. I grabbed the last vial of blood and ran into the closet to hide it in a box. As I came out of the closet, Gaara entered and Kankuro was trying to keep him out. I laughed and they stopped their scuffle.

"Its fine Kankuro, thanks," I chuckled and Kankuro scrambled away and down the hall before Gaara hurt him.

"What was that about?" Gaara growled looking towards where Kankuro ran off.

"I had told him I needed time to study the samples he got me."

"What did you find?" he walked closer.

"The mating went well without a problem," I smiled then he studied me.

"Why are you covered in blood?"

I froze and looked at my clothes. There was blood everywhere. I ran to the bathroom and locked the door before Gaara could follow. I stripped out of the white clothes and filled the sink of cold water. I placed the bloodied clothes in the cold water then ran the shower.

"Karin, open up please," Gaara called through the door. "What happened?"

"Give me a few minutes, Gaara," I spoke.

"So you could hide something?" he growled.

I jumped into the shower as I saw his sand seep under the door. I sat on the ground and pulled my legs to my chest as he walked towards the shower. He looked at me as I peeked through my hair. His face was confused as he stood there. I hide my face, not taking anymore.

I heard him take off his gourd and heard clothes fall to the floor. He came behind me and wrapped his arms around me. Thankfully, his pants were still on which keep me thinking clearly.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

"Some things scare me," I breathed.

"Like what?"

"I don't want to say," I spoke barely audible.

"Okay," he sighed and tightened his arms around me.

I lifted my arms up and looked at my palms. The cuts were already just pink lines. My wolf was learning to heal better and I smiled. I shifted against Gaara and put my face in the hollow of his neck on the opposite side I had bitten. His arms came around my back, resting his hands on my waist. I stayed that way as the water hit us and sighed.

"Karin?" Temari's voice came through the closed bathroom door.

Gaara went to answer the door, "Now isn't a good time," I heard him whisper. "What did you need?"

"Someone told me to give her this package."

"Put in the closet," Gaara ordered.

"Is she okay?"

"I don't think so."

The door closed and I looked up at Gaara as he came into view. He knelt in front of me and caressed my cheek. I rose to my knees and kissed him and he wrapped his arms around my waist so his hands rested on my lower back.

*******LEMON*******

I deepened the kiss and pressed myself against him. His tongue snaked against my lower lip, asking entrance, and he plunged his tongue into my open mouth. I felt him harden against me and I wanted to have him in me. It took both of us to pull off his wet pants. He stood and put them in the tub so it didn't make a mess and as soon as he was in my reach, I grabbed him and started playing with him. I brought my mouth to his hard cock and sucked. He thrusted gently inside my mouth and I deep throated him. He groaned and I felt his body start to shake. I let him sit then I went back to sucking him and he came in my mouth.

I smiled and pulled away to look at him. His eyes were slightly glazed. I straddled him and kissed his neck on the healing wound that was unbandaged. His hands came up and he shoved two fingers inside of me.

"No, I want the real thing," I hissed, pulling his hand out.

"I'll hurt..."

"Trust me," I bit his ear. "We'll go slow."

He positioned himself under me and I lowered myself on him and moaned. I moved on him, taking control. My body protested at the sudden huge intrusion but I ignored it. I started to move faster and Gaara moaned. He pulled me off him and pulled us to our feet. I was confused until he pressed me against the wall of the shower and pressed his chest to my back and shoved himself inside me. He fastened the pace and I couldn't move since I was against the wall. He moved my hair to the side and his mouth came to my neck and bit down. I cried out and writhed against him as I felt blood roll down my chest.

We slid to the floor and Gaara switched me around again so he could look at me. He pressed me against the floor and started thrusting his cock into me again, rougher than before. I came around him and felt his release seconds later. He collapsed on me and I chuckled.

"Don't do that," he whined.

"Sorry, can't help it," I laughed harder and he cried out at the movements. "Get out of me if you don't like it."

He growled and thrusted into me, making me writhe. "I love it," he hissed in my ear. "But every time you clench your walls, it hurts after we've just finished."

At the sound of how tight his voice was, I couldn't contain myself and laughed so hard that it hurt. His growl vibrated my chest and he lifted his upper body and shoved himself in as deep as he could go and I would have screamed if he hadn't kissed me. He started up his pace again but each thrust was hard and deep. Eventually he came again inside me then pulled out and sat up.

*******END LEMON *******

He helped me sit up and then pulled me to my feet. He groaned and left me in the shower and came back with a rag and pressed it to my neck, before helping me out and into a towel. I walked into my closet as he went and grabbed the medical kit, Kankuro left. I looked at the package on the floor and knelt by it as Gaara started to bandage my neck.

"I thought I was the one with a demon," I muttered.

"I'm not the one who bit deeply. I only left shallow bite marks," he spoke, his voice cold.

I looked at him and studied the hardened expression on his face. He didn't look at me but I could see that his demon was close. I groaned and he looked at me, forcing his face to soften.

"You know?" I whispered.

"Know what?" his eyes narrowed.

"You know what's lurking inside you?" My voice was barely audibly.

"How do you...?"

"The vials of blood the doc took," I sighed, looking away from the anger. "He separated some of the vials and gave me the plasma. I found out when I was doing test on them."

He sat back on the heels of his feet and I felt his anger dim a little. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have gotten so mad."

I nodded and I stood up. I pulled out a black dress that had the same design of the fur-hemmed, white dress. I slid into it and Gaara stood up and zipped up the back. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my wet hair. I turned in his arms and kissed him gently.

"No one is perfect, especially when they have to deal with something inside that could lose control," I whispered, resting my head against his bare chest. "But you know you should have told us earlier."

"Yeah...guess I'm still learning that I can trust some people," he sighed, he left real quick and came back dressed. "Do you know who sent the package?"

I pulled out of his arms and knelt in front of the box. It was a foot and each side and three inches deep. I found a note tapped to the corner and opened it. It made no sense but as soon as I looked at it, Okami was growling in my head and I could imagine her hackles raises.

"_What is it, Okami_?" I thought.

_**"That's the language of the snakes and in this world there are very few,"**_ she growled and I could taste her fear.

_"What's your point?"_

_**"Orochimaru and Sasuke."**_

_"Can you read it?"_

_**"Yes."**_

'_My special wolf: _

_Do not think you could hide from me in a village that no longer interests others. Yes, I know who you are. Since I got you out of the way, I have wanted you. Come to me in the Sound wearing this, if you want the Kazekage to live. You have two weeks.'_

"Karin?" Gaara's hands were on my upper arms and he made me look at him.

I only had to focus on him before I started to shake with the truth. Orochimaru would kill Gaara if I didn't go. I buried my face into Gaara's chest and cried. He pulled me out of the closet and sat me in his lap on the couch. I think we say there for a few hours before I stopped being hysterical. I think it was a record for me to freak out that long. Eventually I fell asleep in Gaara's lap from the episode.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	23. Rough Shinobis

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: ROUGH SHINOBIS**

_"Come, my dear little wolf."_

_The voice of the snake Sanin came to me and the world shifted and I found myself in a cave. Orochimaru was sitting on a large bed covered in crimson sheets. The lower half of his body was that of a snake and I started to run. I ran through a maze of tunnels and heard him slither after me._

_"I will have you! You are mine!_"

... ... ...

"Karin!"

Pain erupted from my cheek and I gagged as I woke up. I scrambled off Gaara and bolted to the bathroom just in time. I heaved up a lot of bile, grateful that I hadn't eaten for a while. Gaara came in and pulled my hair out of my face. When I knew I was done, I sat against the wall and put my head between my knees.

"Are you okay?" Gaara knelt in front of me.

"Are you kidding?" I snapped. "That creep!" I stood up and walked out and stood on the balcony.

"What's going on?" Gaara came out and I had to give him credit for being so persistent.

"Orochimaru is going to kill you if I don't go to him," I growled. "He also knows about Okami."

"Is that what the note said?" he whispered.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"If you go, the do the bond before you go," he spoke softly as he pulled me into his arms.

I looked up at him, surprised. "You'd let me go?"

"You'd go anyway," he smiled, no humor in his face. "Plus you'd probably go just to kill him for almost killing you and threatening me."

"Yeah that's true," I sighed and rested my head on his chest. "He gave me two weeks."

"Make sure you beat him for me," he chuckled. "How long and what do you need for the bonding?"

"I have what I need but I'll need a full day alone," I whispered.

"Okay, we'll do it tomorrow. I'll take Kankuro out so you can do it."

"Thank you," I smiled and kissed his neck.

"I love you, Karin," he chuckled.

We walked downstairs and Temari was making lunch. I stayed quiet and Gaara snapped at Temari when she tried to ask what happened and she stopped talking. After lunch, I went into Gaara's room to lie down as Gaara told Temari and Kankuro the plan for tomorrow.

I was woken up later that day when Gaara came in with some dinner. I smiled at him for him knowing I'd want some time to stay calm. Dinner was amazing and Temari definitely had a talent with food.

As Gaara took the dishes out, I walked into the bathroom and filled the bath with hot water and bubbles. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun then turned off the water. Gaara came in and unzipped my dress when he saw me struggling with it. He pulled off the bandages on my neck and then left as I sank into the soothing water.

I watched steam rise from the water and felt myself start to get tired. I leaned back against the tub and closed my eyes. I felt the steam collected on my skin as I drifted off into unconsciousness.

_I was running through a hedged maze, my breathing heavily labored from all the running and had pursuers in cloaks and swords close behind me. I came into the center of the maze where there was a huge open space and a broken down well in the center. Just as I ran to another opening, there were cloaked figures coming. _

_I was trapped. There was nowhere to run now that these people had cut off all my exits. I scrambled and fell next to the broken well._

"_Did you think that you could escape me?" the laugh of Orochimaru came to me._

"_What do you want from me?" I cried._

"_They want what's inside of you, I want to enjoy you as they do it," he smiled, his forked tongue snaking out._

"_You're going to kill me, is that it?" I snapped._

"_Something like that, then we'll go kill your Kazekage," he laughed menacingly._

_I stepped away from Orochimaru only to be grabbed by one of the cloaked figures. I realized they were the Akatsuki and they were going to kill me like they had Gaara. I wouldn't have someone to revive me. Orochimaru reached me and pulled me to him, my back to his chest. _

_The Akatsuki did something and a huge stone statue rose from the ground in the form of a nine eyed man with his mouth open. Also, his hands came up as if he was worshiping the sky. The ten Akatsuki jumped up onto the ten stone digits as Orochimaru smiled._

_His tongue snaked out along my neck and slid inside my dress. I couldn't struggle because a red chakra surrounded us. His tongue snaked down lower as I felt Okami being sucked out of me. He stripped me of my dress and…_

I woke up and stifled a scream. I brought my knees to my chest as I buried my face in the crook of my elbow. A hand was placed on my back and I jumped. I snapped my head up to the person and realized it was Gaara. I had never sensed him return so I must have been asleep for a while.

"Are you okay?" he whispered as he sat on the edge.

I buried my face in his lap and started to cry again. He shifted, drained the tub while wrapping a towel around me and lifted my out of the tub then we sat on the ground and he cradled me in his lap. I was starting to go into hysterics again and I was surprised that one man could make me act this way.

We stayed on the bathroom floor for a while before Gaara carried me to the bed. He grabbed a spaghetti-strapped tunic that had slits from the knee to the waist and was a soft silky black and he helped me dress. After that, we lied under the covers and he fell asleep pretty fast. I was still worrying about if I'd dream of Orochimaru again when I finally crashed from my crying episode.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	24. The Bond

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: THE BOND**

When I opened my eyes, I saw the sky outside barely starting to turn pink as the sun started to come up. Gaara was sprawled out across most of the bed as I was curled up in a loose ball on the edge. I sat up and started to run my fingers through the tangles of my hair. It took a while but as soon as I was done I stood up and walked into my closet.

I pulled out a blood-red dress that went to my ankles and clung to my torso. As soon as it hit my hips there were slits up the front of both legs so I could be able to do anything in the dress. Across the dress, in black detail, was a dragon. The head was on my stomach and it curled around my waist to the back and its tail ended when the fabric did. Gaara was waking up in the other room and I walked out and crawled on the bed to hover over him. He blinked when my hair tickled his neck and he smiled as he saw me. I kissed him teasingly along his neck before pulling away out of his reach.

He frowned when I climbed off the bed but that stopped as soon as he saw what I was wearing. His eyes lit up and he came to me. I stayed out of his reach with a smile on my face, knowing that he was getting frustrated. Soon he lunged at me and it took us both to the floor with a thud. I was laughing at his scowl when two very confused and bleary-eyed siblings came in.

"What's going on?" Kankuro growled as he saw Gaara on me.

"Gaara isn't very happy," I smiled. "We've been playing tag and he broke a few rules when he jumped at me."

Gaara didn't say anything but didn't move either. Temari sighed and walked out and headed downstairs. Kankuro walked in and pulled Gaara off me. Gaara started to struggle until I started to lightly push against his chest. He sat back on his knees, straddling my legs as I sat up.

"Gaara give her some room. Didn't you say she had to do some complex jutsu today?" Kankuro snapped and threw him off me and onto the bed.

Gaara let loose a feral growl and I groaned as his eyes turned black, Gaara's beast was at home and wanted to play. It seemed to happen so fast… I grabbed Kankuro and pushed him towards the door and then lunged at Gaara as he started to jump towards him. I landed on him on the bed and hit him in the face with it as he bucked under me trying to get off. As soon my fist had made contact with his face, he jerked and ripped me off him and I hit a wall.

"Karin!" Kankuro cried and Gaara's beast stopped.

He looked at me and I felt his beast go back into his cage, giving Gaara control again and his eyes turned teal again. I sat up and rubbed the back of my head. I wasn't bleeding, but my head hurt. Gaara took a step towards me and Kankuro moved and put him into a neck hold, not knowing the danger was over.

"Kankuro, it's okay," I whispered. "The danger is over for now."

Kankuro nodded and left quickly. I stood up slowly and took a step forward only to have my legs buckled under me. Gaara was by my side in seconds and pulled me into his arms.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered as he buried his face in my hair. "I don't know what happened..."

"You freaked when Kankuro pulled you off me. You acted like a dog would when someone messes with their mate. Wolfs act that way to. Since you're new to it all, it will take some time to control him." I smiled as I held his shoulder and put my weight on my feet. "Plus, your beast came to play."

"Are you okay?"

"I don't have a concussion. My head just hurts from the impact," I whispered, not looking at him.

We walked into the closet and I grabbed the bag that my scrolls and the vial of blood then walked back out to sit on the floor in the center of the room. Gaara knelt in front of me and picked up blood vial. I pulled out the scrolls and placed them next to each other, in front of me. Gaara reached towards them and they sparked and he jerked back.

"Is there some kind of spell on them?" he whispered as he put the blood vial back.

"My energy surrounds them," I whispered, opening them.

"There's nothing on them," he spoke.

"It's my energy; it renders them blank to everyone. It's what I put on them right before I gave them to someone to protect," I smiled. "It's time to go."

"Okay, be careful," he smiled, kissing my brow. "I'll see you tonight."

"Bye," I whispered and he left. I heard him tell his siblings that it was time to go and soon the house was silent.

I erected a barrier around the whole house and then released the seal on the scrolls. Their power swirled around me, egging me to release the curse. I winced as the power lashed out in its anger and felt my blood spill. I opened the blood vials and poured it in a circle around me, mixing it with my own. My power rose and I focused on the scrolls reading backwards across both.

**GAARA'S POINT OF VIEW **

As soon as we left the house, I felt a barrier rise around the house. Even through the barrier, I felt a harsh power awaken and I stopped. It was her scrolls mixed in with old anger she had had when she was younger. Kankuro pulled me along even though everyone was reluctant to leave Karin alone with such powerful jutsus.

… … …

The sun was setting and there wasn't anything to do. Karin's barrier was still up and I kept pacing the Kazekage office. Temari was sitting at the desk and Kankuro was lounging on the couch. I had been pacing all day, worrying about that harsh power I had felt.

"How much longer?" Kankuro groaned.

"I don't know, her barrier is still up," I sighed.

Temari slouched back in the chair and yawned as there was a knock on the door. "Come in."

"My lord, the leaf responded to that message you sent this morning," the girl handed me the scroll before leaving.

I opened it and read it. The leaf agreed to send a few personnel to the Sound and integrate into the village for when Karin went. I handed the scroll to Temari and she smiled as I started to pace again.

_**"Gaara..."**_

"What?" I turned to Temari annoyed.

"I didn't say anything, no one did," she frowned.

_**"Gaara..."**_ the voice echoed in my head and my brow furrowed. _**"She needs you...Karin needs you... Go to her but make sure you're alone. The barrier will let you through." **_

_"Who are you?"_ I thought.

_**"Her wolf. She needs you now!"**_

"Stay here," I growled and bolted out of the building.

I ran through the streets, past questioning gazes, to the house. I pushed against the barrier and it let me through. I ran inside, up to her room.

The scrolls had an unfamiliar writing on them and Karin was on her side, her body that wasn't covered by her dress was cut up, as if she had been whipped. I rolled up the scrolls and felt a sudden absence of the harsh power. I carried her into the bathroom and slid her dress off and laid her in the shower and turned the head on warm. Karin lay motionless under the spraying water as the blood washed off into the drain.

_"Okami, what now?" _

_**"You must finish the bond. The bond between mates is different with bonds with one's self. Bite her where you had before and drink her blood."**_

"What?"

_**"Do it!" **_

I sighed slid out of my shoes and shirt then knelt by her and lifted her torso up, baring her neck to me. I bit her hard and she twitched under me as I drew blood. As I drank the warm metallic liquid, I heard a moan in my mind. I started to pull away but hands came into my hair and held me down tightly.

"Don't stop 'til I say," Karin moaned. "The bond must be completed now or it won't work."

I obeyed and drank deeper. She growled and her grip loosened. Finally her hands fell away and she went limp in my arms. I jerked back to look at her, she was looking up at the shower head with a dazed look.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

_"Yes,"_ came her reply inside my head. _"It is complete."_

I helped her sit up and she curled up against me. Her neck was still bleeding but the wounds across the rest of her body were just faint pink healing lines. Her blood rolled across my chest as it got washed away. After a while, Karin sat up and combed her hair out of her eyes.

"You should get your siblings and tell them they can return," she smiled, standing up and washed her hair. I sat there and watched her rub soap across her body, mouth slightly open.

**KARIN POINT OF VIEW**

"Sooner you get your siblings, the sooner those thoughts of yours will happen," I smiled, seeing what was on his mind.

He stood up and left with grin. I took down the barrier and sealed the scrolls while still in the shower. Using air, I put the scrolls back in the bag and flew it into the closet.

I smiled, feeling relaxed as I watched Gaara appear at the office to tell his siblings and then using his sand he appeared outside the shower. He pulled off his gourd and clothes while he closed the bathroom door. He came into the shower with me and kissed me hard.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	25. Plans Revealed

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: PLANS REVEALED**

*******LEMON*******

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself closer to him. He hardened against my stomach and I shivered with excitement. I closed my mind to him as one of his hands slid down my back and he slid two fingers inside me. Using my arms I jumped up and wrapped my legs around his waist and he was poised perfectly at my entrance.

I shoved myself on him and he groaned as he came up to meet me. He pushed me against the wall so he could get a better angle and thrusted. I writhed and he cried out as my walls clenched around him. I opened my mind to know what he was thinking at that moment. He needed a release and soon.

He got into a rhythm that was fast and hard that felt like he was getting deeper with each thrust. I cried out as I felt my release then he came seconds later and we fell to the floor. I was on top of him on the tiled floor barely able to move from the day's events. I heard the front door open on the main level and I got to my feet, shakily.

*******END LEMON*******

I grabbed the robe that was hanging up and went to change. I pulled on my booty shorts and tube top then slid on a pair of black pants and a dark purple loose tunic. I dried my hair and walked out of my closet. I had been planning to lie down but what I saw made me stood what I was doing. Gaara's sand was swirling around his nude body as it slowly soaked up the blood on the floor. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around him.

"What are you doing?" I breathed against his back.

"Just cleaning up," he chuckled and I searched his mind and found a black wall that was next to the cage of his inner demon.

"What are you hiding?" I whispered as I pulled away and making him look at me.

"Everyone has their secrets, even you, my little wolf," he whispered as he walked past me to the bathroom to get dressed.

I growled at him then left the room and went downstairs to check on Temari and Kankuro. When I reached the main level, they were eating. I sat down and knew I could most likely get some answers.

"What did Gaara do today?" I whispered.

"Paced and never stopped except when he got an answer from the leaf," Kankuro sighed then Temari smacked him. "What?"

"You said you wouldn't say anything," she hissed but I heard it clearly.

"What's going on?" I snapped.

"Gaara wanted some B. ANBU to go to the Sou..."

"Kankuro!" Gaara came down the stairs. He was furious and I felt like hiding; I had forgotten how scary he could be. "Upstairs, both of you!"

"Don't take it out on us!" Temari snapped, standing up and putting her hands on my shoulders. "She needs to know."

"Go!"

"Come on Temari," Kankuro stood up and pulled at Temari's arm. "We don't want to anger him further."

"She needs someone to protect her," Temari hissed.

I stood up and turned to them. "Thanks, but you should go. His beast isn't exactly stable at the moment."

"Very well," Temari sighed then let Kankuro pull her away.

I turned to Gaara and crossed my arms over my chest. "What are you keeping from me? ?"

"I need you safe," he whispered. "If you knew, then you would have given their location away, even if you didn't mean to, and Orochimaru would have find out."

"I am ANBU, Gaara. Do you think that I would give away my own men?" I snapped. "I am not that low! I was even in for a time."

"I know, Karin, but I am just being careful. What happens if you can't kill him? What happens if you never come back? I can't lose you," his voice broke. "I can't..." he fell to his knees, head in his hands.

I walked around him and knelt behind him as I wrapped my arms around him. He held my arms to him and I felt tears fall onto my arms. I pulled him backwards and cradled him to my chest. I rocked him and I heard him whimper and the sound of choked sobs came out.

"I know..." I whispered. "I know, but you're just going to have to trust me."

"I didn't know how you would have reacted if I told you I was going to have someone spy on you while you were putting yourself into danger to keep me alive," he sobbed.

"Shh…" I whispered, running my fingers through his hair. "It will be alright, Gaara. I'll be taking every caution that I can when I leave. I understand your worry and your urge to protect me but bringing into this is a little too much, isn't it?"

"No," he whispered, as he wiped his eyes. "If I can't always look through your mind and I know you won't let me go, I must have some eyes there to report. If something goes wrong, we could act quickly and help."

"What do you mean you can't always look through my mind?" I whispered, knowing full well what he meant.

"I know you can block me, just like I had blocked you from that information," he chuckled as he pulled away from me and stood up.

"I'm going to bed," I muttered, blocking my mind and transporting to my room.

I needed to be alone for the moment and figure out my plan. Something pushed against my shield and I realized that Gaara was trying to get into my mind. I sighed and blocked harder. He could not ever learn my plan in dealing with the snake Sannin. He needed to stay out of this one and since I knew there was going to be I could easily spot them because I knew each person. What Gaara didn't seem to understand was the fact that as soon as I was in Orochimaru's grasp, I would be chained up most likely. I sighed and laid down. Okami would keep my mind blocked from Gaara.

… … …

The next week and a half, I kept myself hidden from Gaara to prepare for my trip to the Sound. I had different plans for escape and killing the snake Sanin.

On the eleventh day as I came out of the shower Gaara appeared on my open balcony, using his sand. I sighed and walked into my closet. Today was the day I was leaving to finish the threat of Orochimaru.

"Karin, we need to talk," Gaara came in.

"So talk," I spoke as I opened the box.

Inside was an Akatsuki cloak with a hood. I grabbed my tube top and shorts and slid them on before finding an outfit. I grabbed a dark purple tunic that went to my ankles with slits up the front of both legs to mid-thigh. I pulled on my black thigh boots and they went to the tops of the slits of my tunic.

"Whats going on?" he finally spoke. "I mean with you blocking your mind completely?"

"Orochimaru has many twisted tricks so I'm blocking the bond now so when I'm there, he won't find out," I lied easily, looking at him seriously. "If it had been my actual decision, I would have waited 'til I returned to bond us but you asked."

"Why have you been hiding?"

"I'm not hiding, Gaara," I snapped, putting on the cloak. "I have been preparing myself to do this and to be able to kill him."

"Really?" he laid the sarcasm on thick.

"Yes, really. I'm doing this to get rid of a world threat," I walked to him and kissed him, "and for us."

His arms came around me and pulled me tighter against his body. "Be careful and come back," he breathed.

"I love you," I whispered before pulling away. "I need to go."

He smiled slightly as I walked out of the room. On the inside of my boots were my scrolls, they were my final plan. I was going to rid the world of Orochimaru: Sasuke too if I had to. I walked onto the balcony and transported outside of the Sound.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review!**


	26. Taken Captive

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: TAKEN CAPTIVE**

I pulled up my hood and walked into the village. One or two people were in Akatsuki cloaks so I wasn't standing out as much as I had planned. As I walked down the streets, a few cloaked men fell instep behind me.

"Keep going straight," one hissed. "Orochimaru expected you earlier than this."

"I've been busy," I snapped. "I'm here and Orochimaru should be grateful."

"Go into that side street and keep going 'til you come to the cemetery. Once there, there is a cave to the north. He is waiting," the other man snapped and they left me alone in the streets.

I followed the directions and hurried to the cave. I created a fire in my hand for light and walked in as the day faded. After a mile or so, there was a set of stairs leading into an abyss of darkness. I walked down slowly, taking my time to piss off Orochimaru. He would have known I was here by now so I wasn't worried. Finally after a while, I reached another tunnel with multiple halls splitting off.

Sasuke stood in the middle of the splits with a sword strapped to his waist. He had definitely grown up a lot in the past three years. He was probably a head taller and his black hair was thicker and touched his shoulders. I walked closer cautiously. The only weapon I had were my scrolls and they were invisible with my Reiryoku's help and the bracelet of the Elemental Wolf.

"This way wolf," he spoke coldly and walked towards a tunnel. His walk was that of a soldier; Orochimaru corrupted him well and he didn't remember me.

"It's been a few years," I whispered following him. "You've grown so much since I helped teach you."

"What do you mean?" he looked over his shoulders.

"Do you not remember me?" I whispered, pulling off my hood.

He stopped walking and turned to me, eyes slightly wider than normal "Ka-Karin? What are you doing here?"

"Following along with Orochimaru's plans. I won't let him threaten Gaara, especially after he just came back."

"He's doing well?"

"Yes," I smiled as we started walking again. "What about you, Sasuke?"

"I've gotten stronger and am recognized for my power," he growled egotistically.

"There were people in the leaf who recognized that. You just failed to notice," I growled. "You just left and became the bitch of a sadistical..."

SMACK!

I found myself colliding with the wall and a blade to my neck. I tried to move but he pressed the blade harder against my throat.

"You will not disrespect my lord!" he snapped.

"You're going to be dead before long when he takes your body," I choked.

"No one is taking me away from my will!"

"Sasuke!" a voice slithered towards us. "Release my wolf!"

The blade disappeared and I collapsed to the floor. I touched my neck and found blood so I looked at Sasuke and growled. He glowered back as I was cradled in Orochimaru's arms. I didn't even fight, I just stayed limp even though my mind was screaming at me. I was carried away but I could still feel Sasuke's anger like a wave of boiling water.

Orochimaru carried me into a room and sat me on the bed as he took off my cloak. "No weapons? How surprising that you come with only the defense of Okami," he laughed.

I wanted to retaliate but forced myself to be quiet. "What do you want from me now?"

"I want power, why else would I trick the most powerful Jinchuuriki here?" he laughed.

I rolled my eyes and leaned back on my hands as I crossed one leg over the other. His laughter stopped as he looked at me relaxed. I wanted to laugh at the confused look on his face but that never surfaced. I was a prisoner 'til I could get the chance to kill him.

_**'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?'**_ Okami screeched. _**'You're going to give him what he wants?'**_

'_He wants me to cower from him.' _

_**'You're going meet your end and I won't help you do it' **_

_'You will keep that bond blocked or I will torture you, you know I can,'_ I snapped at her.

_**'Fine'**_ came her quiet reply.

_'This is for Gaara_,' I thought as Orochimaru pushed be back onto the bed as his tongue slithered along my neck. I checked the bond and it was closed tightly both ways, it was better that way. His hand slid under my tunic and pulled it up to my stomach.

"Lord Orochimaru! Sasuke says he has information that cannot wait about the Akatsuki," his retainer, Kabuto, came in and his face turned red. "So...sorry I should have realized that you were with your wolf."

"Kabuto, what information would I want?" Orochimaru snapped as he stood up, hiding me.

"It's about the machine," he breathed.

Orochimaru turned to me and then had me chained to a wall in seconds before walking out with Kabuto. I wanted to growl but decided against it so I opened my senses to Gaara while I was alone.

_'Karin, are you okay?'_ His voice came into my head.

_'Yeah, he hasn't tried to hurt me yet. Sasuke did though when I insulted the Sannin,'_ I laughed. _'I'm fine for now. I just wanted to you know that your eyes here won't find me because I'm in a underground lair.'_

_'Where is that?' _

_'I'm not sure where I am anymore because the layout is so complex,'_ I thought quietly then heard someone coming. _'Got to go, I'll contact you later.' _

'_Kar-'_

I put up the barrier again as a man came in. He had matted white hair and had two red dots on his forehead. He put a tray of food before me then left again. I sighed and ate the soup.

For the next two and half days, I was alone and only saw someone when that guy with red dots on his forehead gave me food. I got five more meals before something changed. The man with red dots on his forehead took the chains off the wall and pulled me to my feet. He held on the chains and dragged me out of the room.

"Where are we going?" I asked uncertain.

He remained silent and pulled me forward. He had amazing strength and I stumbled. I growled when I saw him leading me deeper into the layout and we entered a huge cavern.

"Kimimaro, thank you," Orochimaru spoke and took my chains from him and jerked me against him. I made an 'oomph' sound and I heard laughter. There were 7 Akatsuki that I hadn't noticed. Their statue they used on Gaara stood erect.

"No," I screamed and started to struggle against Orochimaru. "You won't take her from me!"

"You know of this?" a man with freaky eyes walked forward. His eyes looked like targets.

_'Okami, help me!'_ I cried inwardly.

She woke up instantly, took control, and then literally jumped out of my skin, breaking the chains and together we destroyed the roof, jumped out and started running across barren land. Okami crawled back in her cage, transforming me back to myself and she healed my burns from the sudden change.

"You won't get away!" multiple voices yelled.

I came to a maze and bolted inside the transported to the center of the maze and pulled out my scrolls and started the curse. I didn't have time to think of another way to escape them. They all had to die... I had to protect the surviving Jinchuuriki. I finished the incantations as I felt my enemies nearby. Then I destroyed the scrolls as the black smoke came around me, whipping the hedges angrily.

The first victim appeared and I screamed out my anger that I had always bottled up. The smoke tendrils attacked him and he scrambled back but it was too late. The smoke had tasted its first victim and it wouldn't stop for three days. I couldn't warn Gaara in fear of the curse spreading through the bonds.

I destroyed the maze, leaving my enemies out in the open and they became infected as I looked at them. Orochimaru and Sasuke came forward and I looked at them. I wanted Sasuke to live but couldn't care a rat's ass about Orochimaru. The smoke surrounded the snake Sannin and started to cut his body up. He kept coming towards me and I could see the pain it was costing him.

"Karin, what is happening?" Sasuke sounded like the 12 year old I had met again.

"Stay back Sasuke, I don't want to kill you," I whispered, strained, and he stepped back.

I turned my gaze to Orochimaru and released my rage of all the threats and pain he has caused the world and I heard a choked scream as he clawed at his throat as the smoke entered him.

"Sasuke if you wish to be accepted by your old friends go to every village near here and tell them to stay away from me or they'll die. Go, it's hard to keep it from infecting you!" I cried and he ran off.

I sobbed as I climbed the mountain and every living thing died around me. It was my bottled up anger that had created this curse and it was angry that I knew how to keep it from raging. The next 70 hours was my personal hell since it tried to attack me but couldn't kill me and didn't have victims to feed off of. I never stopped crying from the pain. Okami knew that she'd be affected if she contacted me so I was alone.

Finally, when it was over and I could move again, I stumbled down the mountain and found a crowd waiting. I had been up the mountain for a week because after it left I couldn't move while Okami healed me. I recognized Sasuke, grimly waiting and hoping I was well. When he saw me, he ran to me and wrapped me into a huge hug.

"Thank you," he breathed. "The curse mark is gone cause of you. You saved me."

"I'm glad you didn't get infected," I breathed.

"Will the countries really welcome me back after I had betrayed them?" his voice shook.

"I make sure they do. Help me to the leaf and we'll explain things. There were a few ANBU in the village..."

"They're right over there," he whispered turning me around towards the crowd. Four men were dressed in an ANBU uniform that was all black, including their masks.

"Let's get you home," I whispered as he carried me past the group of ANBU as darkness claimed me.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review**


	27. Only One Survives

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: ONLY ONE SURVIVES**

I found myself in the Konoha hospital hooked up to a few tubes. An IV tube, blood transfusion tube, and a few others I didn't recognize. I found the help button and pushed it. Seconds later, nurses came in and made a fuss over me.

When they said I could leave, I demanded to know where Sasuke was and they became uncertain if they should say. I growled angrily and they finally squeaked out that he was in a jail cell under heavy guard. I swore as I appeared in the Hokage's office. There were several Jounin and ANBU in the office and it looked like they had been discussing something.

"Karin, finally, you have awakened, you've been unconscious for two weeks," Tsunade smiled grimly. "We were discussing the fate of Uchiha."

"What's there to discuss? He saved me and brought me back. He deserves to try to be accepted again. He never hurt anyone; he only trained to be stronger. Since I killed Orochimaru, the curse mark is gone and the Akatsuki are dead," I growled. "Where is he?"

"Put away 'til we decide what to do," Danzo appeared.

"Where?"

"Karin, we know how you feel but..."

"But nothing, he has returned and wants to be accepted again," I snapped then appeared outside Sasuke's cell.

There were four ANBU inside the room and I could sense many more outside. Sasuke was sitting on a cot wearing a skin tight shirt and a pair of black pants and sandals. The ANBU jumped when I appeared and drew swords.

"Stand down," I snapped. "I just came to talk. You can either stand down or I'll make you leave!"

Reluctantly they put away their swords and walked to stand a few feet to give us the false pretense of privacy.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked, standing up and coming to the bars.

"I've been better," I lowered my voice. "They believe you need a trial. Did you ever go on any missions for Orochimaru and hurt anyone? I had told them that all you did was train with him."

"I did only train," he hissed. "Orochimaru was always so paranoid about me leaving him that he kept me on a short leash."

"Danzo keeps persuading the council that you're guilty of something."

"Danzo? Older man with most of his face covered, walks with a limp, hunched over?" Sasuke's face paled.

"Yes, what do you know?"

"He must be pissed. He had an alliance with the Akatsuki. The reason he has his face covered is because he has acquired a Sharingan in a twisted way slightly like Kakashi."

"What?" I hissed, pressing my body against the bars.

He put his next to my ear. "There is a scroll in the hilt of my sword. They took it to the office of this building. I think they gave it to Kakashi which is good..."

"Get away from the bars!" an ANBU walked closer.

"There is a threat greater than the Akatsuki, that scroll will explain. If I die, I'll do it helping my friends and village," he whispered before kissing my cheek and stepping back before the man got close enough to hear. I stepped back and nodded to him. "Good luck, Karin," he smiled sadly as he sat back on his bed.

I appeared at the jail's front office and inquired about the sword. It had indeed been sent to Kakashi to see if there was something that could be a threat besides its point. I transported to Kakashi's house and he wasn't home yet. I searched the whole place and found nothing as the main door opened. I scrambled under his bed and willed my heart to slow down. I had to get that information and see if it was accurate before assumptions were made.

Something was thrown on the bed with a small thump and I heard clothes falling to the floor. Shit! He walked into his bathroom and I slithered out from under the bed when I heard him get into the shower. The sword was on the bed and I smiled. I grabbed it and found the small lid. I found how to open it and slid the scroll out. I heard the shower turn off and I jumped, dropping the sword onto the floor.

I heard quick movements in the bathroom and I almost got out of the bedroom when he came out. I was slammed against the wall with a kunai at my throat. Kakashi's face was unblemished in every way, from the curve of his lips to the perfection of his small and straight nose.

"Karin, what are you doing here and messing with that sword?" he growled. He didn't even bother covering his face because I was a threat.

"I had to confirm something before assumptions were made. I want Sasuke free," I whispered.

"What?"

"I can't say yet. I'm sorry but the evidence could possibly get Sasuke hurt."

Kakashi released me and stepped back. He was in only a towel. I took a step to the side and left the room. I sat in a corner that I knew that no one would be able to peer over my shoulder and unrolled the scroll.

_**'Danzo,**_

_**We have written to inform you that the 6th Kage is willing to meet with you. They have a few ideas that would help you become the next Hokage. Orochimaru is becoming intrigued in the extraction machine and we don't know how much longer we will keep him out. We have set a spy in his care but the secret will come out. A war will rage. Only you would be able to control the mijuu once we take all 9 tailed beasts. Contact us soon.**_

_**Madara Uchiha **_

I took a deep breath and closed the scroll. This was dangerous and I now understood the Akatsuki's plan after 4 years of studying. They wanted to create a single beast and hoped Danzo would be able to control it. Sasuke was right, there was a bigger threat.

"Karin, are you okay?" Kakashi came out, dressed and face covered.

"Sasuke told me about this," I handed him the scroll. "There is a threat greater than what the Akatsuki was doing. I have to destroy their machine..."

"Why you…?"

"Because my beast is a part of me, she was never sealed. I should have destroyed their machine when I had the chance. I need you to get that letter to Tsunade without anybody else knowing. Tell her that I went after the machine," I whispered before transporting to the Sound Village, hoping the machine was still there.

I entered the cavern and froze. A man in a black cloak with red clouds stood in front of the machine. His face was covered by an orange mask. I drew my zanpakto and growled at him.

"How is it that you managed to escape my curse?" I snapped.

"I have a Sharingan so I just drew in your curse and it entered a different dimension," he laughed and took off his mask. "I am Madara, where is my precious descendant, Sasuke? You killed him too?"

"Shit," I whispered and opened my bond with Gaara. _'I'm in trouble…' _

'_What happened?' _his voice came rapidly.

'_One Akatsuki survived and he is a carrier of the Sharingan. He called himself Madara Uchiha,' _I thought frantically_. 'What do you know?'_

'_He is the most dangerous of them all. He had betrayed the Leaf and can use his Sharingan to control Jinchuuriki. Do you have any allies near you?'_

'_No, I am alone,' _my thoughts broke_. 'My curse didn't even work on him like the other Akatsuki and I can't call Okami out…' _tears fell down my cheeks.

'_Karin, no…please! Run while you can! Leave that cursed machine alone. Survive for me, please!'_ his voice cried as he saw my thoughts.

'_It's the only way the last of the Jinchuuriki survive…Naruto would be broken by this machine. I am sorry that I have to break my promise to you…' _ I dodged an attack from Madara.

'_Karin…'_

'_I'll see what I can to do survive, but I can't promise you anything, anymore. I love you, Gaara of the Desert, with my whole being,' _I smiled sadly and jumped up and landed on the machine.

I summoned every ounce of my Reiryoku and Okami's and shoved it into the machine, making it shatter and disappear from the world. Madara yelled in rage and ran at me, weapon drawn. I smirked at him as the world of darkness claimed me.

**GAARA'S POINT OF VIEW**

'_I'm in trouble…' _her voice entered my head fearfully. Her voice had woken me from sleep which I had been having troubles with.

'_What happened?' _I thought urgently.

'_One Akatsuki survived and he is a carrier of the Sharingan. He called himself Madara Uchiha,' _her thoughts were frantic_. 'What do you know?'_

'_He is the most dangerous of them all. He had betrayed the Leaf and can use his Sharingan to control Jinchuuriki. Do you have any allies near you?'_

'_No, I am alone,' _her voice broke_. 'My curse didn't even work on him like the other Akatsuki and I can't call Okami out…' _

'_Karin no…please! Run while you can! Leave that cursed machine alone. Survive for me, please!'_ I begged to her.

'_It's the only way the last of the Jinchuuriki survive…Naruto would be broken by this machine. I am sorry that I have to break my promise to you…' _ I saw her dodge an attack from a man with Sharingan, wearing a black cloak with red clouds.

'_Karin..._'

'_I'll see what I can to do survive, but I can't promise you anything, anymore. I love you, Gaara of the Desert, with my whole being,' _she smiled sadly in my head. I felt her summon every ounce of her chakra then the bond disappeared.

"Karin!" I cried out, clutching my head.

Kankuro and Temari came into my room, fearing the worst. We had learned that she had been taken to the Leaf by Sasuke and hospitalized. That had been weeks ago. We had been busy trying to make sure the Sand Village was in order and none of us could go visit.

"We are going to her?" Temari asked.

"Is she…?" Kankuro couldn't finish.

"I don't know…" my voice was weak. "Our connection disappeared. She had been in the Sound Village again, fighting Madara Uchiha then the bond just broke."

"Let's get to the Sound and see if we can figure out what truly happened," Temari pulled me off my bed, determinedly.

It took three days to get to the Sound village and everyone had a haunted look as they went through their days. We heard rumors of a curse that had passed through weeks ago and the enemies of the village were dead. We followed the directions of one willing elderly man and ran north of the village. There was a huge hole in the earth about a mile wide; it looked like something had exploded.

I jumped into the hole and landed on the ground roughly and my siblings landed behind me. I looked around and saw many tunnels that branched off the broken cavern. Over most of the cavern were stone fragments, large and small. We separated and searched the cavern.

"GAARA!" Temari's voice screamed to me from the other side of t he cavern.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review**


	28. Surprise!

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: SURPISE!**

I appeared next to her, using my sand, and saw Karin lying on the ground, bruises on her arms. She was on her side and was in a loose fetal position, her arms near her head. Kankuro ran over and froze seeing her. Next to her was a body burnt beyond recognition and I figured it was Madara, seeing a small piece of fabric that had survived that was from an Akatsuki cloak.

Temari crouched down and pressed two fingers to her neck gently, feeling for her pulse and put her other hand on her back. Her eyes went wide and she laughed as she looked up at me. I sighed, knowing what that meant. I pulled Karin into my arms then wrapped my sand around the four of us and appeared in the Leaf.

"Summon Tsunade to the hospital fast," I snapped and disappeared as they ran to the main building.

At the hospital, we got Karin onto an IV and in a bed by the time Tsunade and my siblings showed up. Tsunade did a fast physical check up and she smiled weakly but there was something in her eyes that made me confused. She knew something was wrong, but when we inquired she refused to speak, only putting her on more IV fluids.

**THREE MONTHS LATER –**

**NO POV**

Temari, Kankuro and Gaara were taking turns in the Leaf to keep an eye on Karin because Tsunade had refused to release her from the Leaf's Hospital. She was health physically and Tsunade reassured us that her mind was just taking longer to recover from all the stress her body had taken.

The Leaf Council had decided that Sasuke had no evil intentions and they let him back into the village and he was welcomed by Naruto and Sakura. He would come by the hospital to check on Karin every now and then, still surprised that he was welcome back and not imprisoned or given the death penalty.

It was the middle of winter and Karin finally showed some movement that proved that she was finally waking up. The first thing she did when she woke was rolling on her side and puking on the floor. Tsunade sent word to Gaara after Karin stirred.

* * *

><p>"Byakuya, we have finished the machine," Nemu bowed as she stood in my office. "I've been through to test it and I arrived in a desert unharmed. Captain Kurotsuchi also has created a crystal so as long as the gate here is intact then you can come back and forth between the two."<p>

"Excellent," I spoke and stood up. "I'll be there shortly. Get everything necessary ready because I expect to find Karin before the week is out. Tell Mayuri that I will be bringing a couple people to help the search."

"Yes sir," Nemu bowed again then left.

"Finally, Karin, you'll be found out and there will be no place for you to hide now," I smirked and went to inform the team I had picked out weeks before.

* * *

><p><strong>GAARA'S POINT OF VIEW<strong>

I felt a tug on my mind as I received a letter from the Leaf. I frowned, confused at the sudden feeling then looked at the unopened letter on my desk. I wanted to open it but also dreaded what I could find. Was she dead? Did she finally wake?

"Gaara?" Temari came in confused. "What did the Leaf need that they sent their fastest messenger bird to us?"

"I don't know… I can't…" I frowned and turned my chair so my back faced my desk and I looked outside through the window. I heard the pop of Temari breaking the seal on the letter and she squealed, making me jump. "What does it say?"

"**Lord Kazekage:**

**I have good news for you and your siblings. Karin has finally woken but is constantly throwing up. Please come as soon as you can, she's panicking about some kind of bond not being with her and is making herself sicker? Hurry to the Leaf as fast as you can. **

**Lady Hokage**

I turned around and grabbed the letter and reread it. I looked at Temari and she was grinning from ear to ear. She nodded at my questioning gaze and I ran out of the room. Even at my fastest pace it took two days and when I entered Karin's hospital room, I heard retching in the bathroom. Tsunade came out cradling Karin in her arms and placed her on the bed. She rolled on her side, her back facing away from me and I saw her body relax.

"She's worn out," Tsunade sighed. "She refuses to let anyone touch her but me and I have no clue why. She's throwing up around five times a day and we can't figure out the reasons behind that."

"Is there any poison in her blood? She was with Orochimaru for a time, doing her duty as ANBU in protecting me," I whispered as I regarded her weary face.

"That hasn't crossed my mind," she frowned and went to Karin. She poked a needle in her arm and drew a vial of blood before pulling it out. "You can stay here with her but don't expect for her to react to you like she normally would. Temari told me that you two have some history since we sent her to you. Be wary and don't push her."

I nodded and sat on the chair next to her bed. I tried to reach out to her with my mind and heard a growl come from Karin's lips. _Was the bond broken? Had she died out there and come back on her own?_

It was three hours later before Tsunade returned, her face showed complete shock. She motioned to me and I followed her out into the hallway, confused. She looked grim, ecstatic, and surprised all at once. She sat on the ground and I crouched in next to her, concerned.

"She's pregnant…"

Those two words made me slide down the wall to sit next to her. Something pricked my hand and I flinched. Tsunade collected the blood she made come out. She put it on the tip of a white device that looked similar to a thermometer. The device beeped and a green light appeared.

I looked at Tsunade's face and saw that she was smiling. She stood up and offered me a hand. I took her hand and she helped me stand up then she left, rather quietly. I entered Karin's room and sat on the chair next to her bed.

'_Was the child mine or did Orochimaru do something to her?' _I thought anxiously for Karin to wake.

'_**Are you really ready to bring a child into this world if it is yours? Do you forget that any child will have a part of me within them just like your mother passed me to you?'**_my demon growled. _**'Didn't you promise yourself that you'd never have children even if you married?'**_

'_I don't know anymore. You have lost much of your anger since we met Karin and her strange but loving demeanor,'_ I sighed.

'_**It may be possible to train any child you may ever have.'**_

'_I'm glad you're not as vindictive as you used to be.'_

'_**It's all the doing of the beautiful women before us. No matter who's child it is, don't hurt her.'**_

I sighed and stood up and looked at Karin carefully. If it was my child growing in her womb then she would have been 4 months along. I slid my hand over her side and moved it to her stomach. She had a small bump and I felt something nudge my hand.

Karin jerked awake and bolted up into a sitting position. She looked around the room frantically and her gaze locked onto me. I had my hand on her stomach still and I moved my other hand to support her back. Her labored breathing slowed as I felt her in my mind.

'_The bond is still there…thank goodness,' _her voice came into my head and she leaned against me.

"Are you well?" I whispered in her hair.

"I am now," she breathed. "Was that you who poked my stomach?"

"That wasn't me," I breathed as I felt another nudge.

"Wait…what?" she stared at her stomach and put both hands over mine. "I'm pregnant…? How long have I been unconscious? Tsunade never told me that…"

"Three months," I whispered, kissing her head. "Did Orochimaru ever do anything to you or is it mine?"

"It is only yours," she giggled. "I would have killed Orochimaru right where he stood if he had ever touched me like that. That's too disgusting to think about," she shuddered then her body tensed.

She scrambled out of my arms and bolted to the bathroom. I followed and held her hair out of the way while she threw up. Afterwards, I pulled her into my arms and carried her out and sat her on my lap on the couch.

"Guess, we know why I'm sick all the time since I woke up a couple days ago," she smiled as she snuggled into my arms. "How did you figure it out?"

"Tsunade was telling me that she was confused at why you were sick then I asked if Orochimaru had poisoned you. She took some blood and disappeared for three hours. When she came back, she told me. You should be about four months along," I answered.

She sighed contently and buried her face in my shirt. "I've missed you, Gaara. I promise I won't ever leave again."

"Gaara?" Tsunade entered the room and froze seeing us on the couch. "I must speak with you about an issue I have with my Hokage duties."

Karin got off my lap and sat on the couch. I winked at her and followed Tsunade out into the hallway. I blocked my link with Karin incase this was something that was private.

"We have a problem," she whispered and dragged me down the hall. "If word came you that you had an illegitimate child, you could lose your title as Kazekage."

"I know that," I whispered. "I was thinking about that for the last little bit. I told her she was pregnant and she started giggling."

"Well that's good news," she breathed. "What are you going to do?"

"Watch Karin, I'll be back soon," I whispered, smiling slightly as I walked away.

"Gaara!" Tsunade snapped. "You mustn't go…"

"I'll be back Lady Tsunade, keep her calm."

Tsunade growled after me as I walked down the hall then sighed. She entered Karin's rooms and I felt her poke at my closed mind. I felt her panic and I sent only reassuring emotions to her, nothing else.

**KARIN'S POINT OF VIEW**

Tsunade entered my room, looking slightly annoyed and sat on the couch. I searched for Gaara and felt his mind blocked and he was leaving the hospital. I started panicking and then felt a reassuring feeling but he revealed nothing of what he was doing.

"Tsunade, where is Lord Kazekage going?" I frowned. "Why is he leaving?"

"I'm not sure, Karin, how do you know he's leaving the hospital?" Tsunade stood up and walked over to me.

"I just do," I growled, before bolting into the bathroom to puke again. "I'm getting sick and tired of throwing up," I sighed, sitting against the wall in front of the toilet.

Tsunade came in and laughed. "Do you know why you're sick?"

"Of course I do, Lord Kazekage told me," I looked up at her.

"You don't have to be so formal with the father of your child," she whispered, helping me stand up. "I love blood tests. I'm surprised that his sand didn't stop me pricking his hand though, but then again he was really shocked when he found out."

I nodded and she helped me into the hospital bed. "When can I get out of this hospital?"

"As soon as Gaara returns from where ever he went," she frowned. "All he told me was to keep you calm. We need to get some sustenance in you, throwing up all the time while pregnant is not healthy for either of you."

I sighed and pulled the blankets around me as Tsunade put an IV line in my arm. I closed my eyes and prodded Gaara's mind again with more force, but still couldn't get through his shield. I found the black spot that held his demon and prodded it and it let me in.

"_**Beast what is Gaara up to?" I growled.**_

"_**Hey again," I heard the demon laugh. "Guess Gaara didn' think you'd be able to contact me but he was wrong. He wants to surprise you so I don't know if I can tell you."**_

"_**Please or I will not stay calm as he wants," I threatened. "I'll hunt the two of you down."**_

"_**Go ahead, but I'd tell him. You shouldn't be pushing yourself when you're halfway through your pregnancy with a half-demon child."**_

"_**What…?" I gasped.**_

"_**How do yo think I became to be a part of Gaara? His mother was a full demon and so was the late Kazekage and that's how Gaara's a full demon. Since you're the host of a beast, the child will only have half of my genetics and half of yours. Gaara and I hope that we can train the child's power young so they're not unstable," he explained, sympathetically. **_

"_**Okay, makes sense now tell me where you are!" **_

"_**No, Gaara!" the beast called. "Karin's wants to hunt you down if you don't hurry back!"**_

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review**


	29. Perks of Being Pregnant

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: PERKS OF BEING PREGNANT**

I sighed as I felt part of Gaara's shield fall. _'Gaara, you're in so much trouble.'_

'_You are able to talk to the demon?' _he thought, carefully shielding what he was doing.

'_Yes, and I'm sure that you would be able to talk to Okami since we are all bonded together,' _I thought smugly._ 'Get back here or I will rip this IV out of my arm and come after you, don't think that I won't!'_

'_Calm down please and give me an hour and I'll be back. Get some sleep. You'll know what I am doing by then," _he whispered softly then shielded his mind again.

_**I released a feral growl through the demon's mind and laughed as I felt his slight fear at what that growl meant. "Make sure he hurries it up."**_

"_**Yes ma'am," the demon whispered.**_

"_**What is your name, demon?"**_

"_**Don't have one, lady."**_

"_**Call me Karin and I will call you…" I thought for a second. "…Hisashi."**_

"_**You honor me Karin, sleep well and I'll torment him if he doesn't hurry."**_

I smiled and let dreams carry me away from the world.

... ... ...

_There was a child in front of me playing on the floor with toys. He had black hair and the tips looked like they were dipped in red but his eyes were the color of the sea with streaks of purple and seemed to ensnare me. He smiled and I saw a pair of small fangs and he crawled to me and I noticed his nails were clawed like an animal's._

_I studied him and noticed his ears were pointed. I pulled him into my lap and he snuggled against me on his side and I saw a tattoo that held the crescent moon of my wolf and it wrapped around a swirl of dots that looked like sand on the center of his brow. I smiled until I saw Byakuya standing in front of me, his blade drawn._

"_No monster shall live, you both shall die!" he growled and lunged._

_I was unable to move myself in time and saw the blade pierce the child and felt it pierce my body…_

_... ... ..._

I bolted upright in the hospital bed, sobbing. I was alone in the room. I fell back onto the bed and rolled onto my side and curled up into a fetal position, my back facing the door. I couldn't stop my sobbing and when Tsunade entered, she ran to my side concerned, only to relax when I told her it was just a dream.

"How long was I out?" I choked out.

"Not even twenty minutes, do you need something?" she hovered over me.

I looked at her and mouthed Gaara's name as I broke down into more sobs. She nodded and ran out of the room. About five minutes later, Sakura and Hinata entered and sat on the bed by my feet to try to comfort me.

It was about ten minutes later that I drifted into a tear-induced sleep. My sleep was restless and I kept waking up every five minutes only to break down into more sobs that Sakura put me on oxygen because I couldn't breathe, at least I wasn't puking. Mercifully, Gaara finally returned, dragged by the arm by Tsunade. She threw him into the room and summoned the two girls out and closed the door.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he hurried to my side.

I scooted over and pulled him onto the bed and curled against him, glad that my sobs had slowed to silent tears. He wrapped his arms around me, careful of the IV and air tubes and held me close.

'_I'm going to kill you if you ever leave like that again,' _I thought to him as I buried my face against his shirt.

"What happened, Karin? Tsunade only told me that you had entered hysterics," he breathed in my hair.

I showed him the dream through the bond and felt myself shaking as I felt as if it was happening. Gaara's arms tightened around me and thought nonsense to me and I calmed down and drifted into a dreamless slumber.

**GAARA'S POINT OF VIEW**

I watched Karin as she slept in my arms and shuddered at the dream. Through the bond, I felt everything that happened as if it was real. I buried my face in her hair and took a deep breath of her scent that reminded me a lot of desert roses.

'_Such a vivid mind,'_ I thought.

'_**And you wondered why a pregnant woman was in hysterics,'**_ my beast growled. _**'Couldn't your little spontaneous shopping trip have waited?'**_

'_No, demon, I needed to do it for her. I won't leave her again.'_

'_**Hisashi,'**_ the demon growled.

'_What?' _

'_**Karin named me Hisashi when she learned that I was unnamed. It fits me well with the nature that I have to not die. I am just passed along from parent to child.'**_

'_It does suit you, now let me rest.'_

I closed my eyes and held Karin tightly in my arms. Tsunade was ushering my plans along since I told her what they were when she hunted me down. She had said that she would take care of everything while I comforted Karin so she didn't go into hysterics again. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

"Gaara!" I jerked awake. "I swear if you don't get off, I may puke on you!"

Karin pushed me off the bed, ripped out the IV and oxygen tube then bolted for the bathroom where she locked the door on me and I heard her puke. I knocked on the door but heard her growl as I heard the tub turn on. I summoned my sand around me and appeared in the bathroom as she pulled off her shirt.

"Did you have to lock the door?" I looked at her.

"I knew you'd come in one way or another," she smiled then I looked at her stomach.

I walked to her and wrapped my hands around her stomach and turned her towards the mirror. "Just think in about 4 or 5 months we'll get to see the bundle of joy."

She giggled and pulled my arms away then pulled off her pants and got into the tub. I sat on the ground next to her and propped my arms on the edge and kissed her cheek. She looked at me and pressed her lips to mine then I got a bunch of water dumped on my head. She pulled away and proceeded to play with the bubbles.

"That wasn't nice," I frowned.

"So…?" she looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "What were you doing today when you left?"

"It's a surprise," I smirked standing up. She pouted and lowered her head so I couldn't see her face. "Karin…"

"You said that by the time you came back, you'd tell me," she whimpered.

I groaned and knelt next the tub and made her look at me. "I promise that you'll know soon. I just want everything to be finished before you know." I kissed her tears away and slid one hand into the water to rest on her stomach. "We have created a wonderful thing, but we didn't do it in the right order. I could lose my title if word of an illegitimate child got out."

Her eyes widened in surprise and she gasped. "What are we going to do then?"

"Karin, don't worry we'll keep this quiet until the proper time," I whispered and kissed her as I summoned my sand. "I'll be on the couch when you're done."

**KARIN'S POINT OF VIEW**

I watched Gaara disappear and sighed. Who knew how much trouble two people could get into when one of them was a leader of an entire country? I ducked under the water and washed my hair quickly. At least I wasn't as nauseous as I was before Gaara came.

'_**Karin, what do you think he's planning? And what did he mean 'keep this quiet until the proper time?'**_ my beast growled as I drained the tub.

'_I don't know, see if you can get any details from Hisashi,'_ I thought back as I got dressed in a new kimono that Tsunade had kindly put in the bathroom closet. Its slits went to my waist on both sides and flowed down to touch the ground.

I walked out of the bathroom while drying my hair and saw Gaara lounging on the couch. His head was resting on the back of the couch with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head. I smirked and let the towel drop to the floor as I walked closer. I climbed onto him, straddling his body and slid my hands up his arms as I kissed his neck. I rocked my hips and heard him groan as I ground into his hardness as I slid the collar of his shirt down to expose more of his neck.

"Karin…"

'_Relax,'_ I smirked as I kissed his neck again, moving my lips to the scared skin that was my doing and I bit him, extending my fangs. _'Don't say anything, in case there's someone passing by the room.'_

'_Are you sure you should be doing this with the child?'_ he moaned in my mind as I drew blood and started sucking.

'_I'm only hungry,'_ I chuckled. _'Some hungers are easier satisfied than others. Plus I haven't been able to see or touch you for months.'_

'_Karin…' _he moaned as I moved my hands down his chest and started to unbutton his pants.

There was a knock on the door, making both of us freeze. "Gaara, Karin, may we come in?" the voice of Sakura came to us.

"Give us a few minutes," Gaara called, his voice controlled as I buttoned his pants and withdrew from his neck. Then I slid to the side off his lap and licked any blood off my lips. "Okay."

"Hey, how are you doing Karin?" Naruto smiled as he, Sakura, and Sasuke came into the room.

"I've been better," I smiled then thought to myself and let Gaara hear my train of thought, _'Was doing great 'til you interrupted?'_

Gaara laughed in my mind as he heard the comment, but on the exterior, he was emotionless.

"Karin, why are you not on the IV or Oxygen?" Sakura pushed past the two guys and pulled me off the couch and put me back on the bed. Then she put the IV back in but I refused the oxygen.

"You didn't tell them anything, did you?" I growled to her, knowing she knew what I was meaning.

"No, patient confidentiality," she smiled. "Plus Tsunade told me the situation."

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, hearing the conversation.

"Don't worry about things that are not an issue," Gaara growled, standing up. "Sakura, is Tsunade finished yet?"

"She said to give her one more hour," Sakura smiled, looking at him.

I pulled my feet up and crossed them as I crossed my arms and glared at Sakura and Gaara. Gaara returned my glare with a blank look while Sakura backed away. Naruto looked at me and backed away as well with Sasuke.

"If looks could kill," Naruto muttered to Sasuke.

I growled at them, letting my eyes change to the eyes of my wolf. They scampered out of the room while Sakura just swiftly left. I waited for a couple seconds then tore the IV back out then motioned Gaara back to me. He came cautiously and as soon as he was in my reach, I grabbed him and pulled him back to me as I latched my teeth back onto his wound. I wound my fingers in his hair as his hands came around my waist.

I started sucking his blood again and felt him shiver. Eventually I pulled away and licked the wound to make it stop bleeding. Gaara swayed and I got off the bed and sat him on the couch. His mind was fuzzy and I smirked. I searched his mind but the information I searched for was still firmly behind a shield.

I sighed and straddled his waist again and kissed him. He responded and his hands slid up and down my waist and I pulled myself against him tightly and ground into him. He responded with plunging his tongue into my mouth.

'_We really shouldn't push you while you're pregnant,'_ he thought as he pulled away. _'That bite was something else though…'_

'_I'm not going to break and neither is the child,' _I growled looking down at him. _'Who said we can't have any fun?'_

'_We can, but we have to be careful so we don't injure the child. We should ask Tsunade to see if we can do a test to see what gender it is…'_

'_No need, Okami," I called._

'_**From the smell around your womb, it's definitely male,' **__Okami smirked as Gaara stiffened under us.__** 'There's no reason to act that way, we are bound just like Karin said and I've had a few conversations with Hisashi as well.'**_

I smiled as Okami went back into her cage. I got off Gaara and walked into the bathroom to brush my hair. Sakura came back in to check on me and growled as she saw the IV tube sitting on the bed. I braided my hair and looked at her amused.

"I have different ways to get the sustenance that I need and I don't require that tube to support the two of us," I smirked.

"And how are you able to keep this _'sustenance'_ down?" she growled, crossing her arms.

"Let's just say that some of the things that are most likely nauseating to you humans are appetizing to me," I smiled. "Your food won't be able to agree with my body ''til the sustenance I truly need is sated."

"What exactly did you eat?" her eyes widened.

"Do you want to keep your lunch, Sakura?" I taunted and she left the room quickly. "Geez, they are so interesting."

"What did you mean exactly by that?" Gaara whispered.

"I remember a period of time after the Chunin exams that food didn't exactly sit well with me, but blood did. I had been injured too many times that my body rejected the unnecessary food so I had to switch to blood to get what I needed for me and Okami. I did tell you I took on unusual habits from being with Okami," I explained, sitting next to him on the couch.

He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my hair as he took a deep breath. I purred and snuggled against him, my arms wrapped around my stomach. The time seemed to speed up because Tsunade entered some time later, grinning and pulled me away from Gaara and out of the hospital.

"Tsunade, are you drunk?" I growled as she dragged me to a house as the sun went down.

"Slightly but what I'm doing is for you and your love," she giggled as she threw a pile of clothes at me. "Get dressed; Gaara wants this to be remembered."

I sighed and looked at the clothes. It was a more traditional kimono that was three layers black with purple flower designs on the sleeves and hems that matched my eyes. I changed into it then Tsunade dragged me to another house which was Ino's and she did my hair.

'_Gaara what are you planning?' _I whispered as Ino applied some silver eyeliner to my eyes and some mascara.

'_You'll see soon,'_ he thought back, sending his love through the bond.

'_Okami, did you ever get information from Hisashi?'_

'_**Yes, but its better if I leave it unsaid,'**_ she whispered and went to sleep before I could get anything else out of her.

I sighed as Tsunade and Ino pulled me from the house and up to the cliff above the Hokage heads. They left me there and disappeared. I jumped down to the fourth Hokage's head and sat down. I heard Gaara before he landed next to me.

"You look beautiful in that," he whispered as he helped me stand up then released me.

"What is this all about, Gaara?" I whispered turning away from him and looked out over the village.

"Karin, look at me," I heard him whisper.

I looked over my shoulder and gasped. He was on one knee and held a box that held a purple amethyst ring inside what looked like a flower. I turned my whole body around and realized I was shaking.

"Karin, will you marry me?"

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review**


	30. Child of Power

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: CHILD OF POWER**

"Karin, will you marry me?" he spoke, voice full of determination and I let out a shaky breath as I laughed. I nodded and he stood and wrapped his arms around me and slid the ring onto my finger. "I love you, Karin."

"I love you too, Gaara," I whispered as I wrapped my arms around his waist. "So this is what you were planning?"

"Yes, and I'm slightly surprised that you didn't figure it out earlier. I did give you a few hints like me saying that we needed keep your pregnancy quiet until the proper time," he whispered in my ear.

"Well sue me for being a hormonal 16 year old," I laughed lightly. "When do you want to have the wedding?"

"Before the child is born that's for sure, what do you think?"

"Well I'm sure you want your siblings there and there are a few here that would kill us if they didn't get to come…so how about we have those that we want from here come with us back to the sand and have it planned within the next couple weeks?" I looked up at him. "We don't want people to get too suspicious about how far I am into my pregnancy."

"Sounds perfect to me," he smiled, pressing his lips to my brow.

"Ga…ara?" a very familiar voice stammered from above us. We looked up and saw Naruto and Sasuke staring down at us with very surprised expressions. "I hope I heard wrong…Karin, did yo say you're pregnant?"

"Now what would give you that idea?" I smirked as they jumped down and stood next to us.

"Well, you did say you didn't want too many people getting suspicious and you said you were a hormonal 16 year old," Sasuke stated switching to his Sharingan eyes. "How far along are you? I already can see that your power has grown some and it wraps around your stomach."

I looked at Gaara, wondering if we should actually tell them the truth.

"Can't be less than three months since you were unconscious during that time so it must have been before you went after Orochimaru and myself… so am I correct in assuming that you're close to four months along?"

I sighed and buried my face in Gaara's cloak as I felt my face heat up.

"With that reaction, that's a definite yes," Naruto laughed. "Don't think you could get past two keen minds like us…"

"Naruto," I growled looking at him, "get out of here. Why are you two up here anyway?"

"Tsunade said there was a sight up here to see and we found you two."

I sighed and transported Gaara and myself to my old apartment which was still technically mine. I pulled Gaara to the bed and snuggled against him, contently. He smiled and tightened his arms around me and we fell asleep contently.

"Knock, knock," Tsunade's voice jerked me from sleep and I looked around. She was standing in the doorway to my bedroom while holding a cup of tea. "Lord Kazekage, as much as I know you like to lounge around all day, you are needed in your village. You can only leave your duties to another for so long."

I growled internally and hid my face in Gaara's chest. _'Too many interruptions since I woke up.'_

"Lady Tsunade, I am sure that you were never invited into Karin's home so you are trespassing. Leave and we will get up when we want to. My village has gone without me for longer periods of time than this, plus my sister and brother are capable of dealing with the meetings. Leave." Gaara spoke pulling me with him as he sat up.

She laughed and left the room. I heard her in the kitchen, washing her cup then she left. The apartment became quiet for a few minutes before either of us moved.

I got up and went to the main room and locked the door so we had no more uninvited guests. Then walked into the kitchen where I knew I had some blood bags in a secret compartment. I grabbed a glass, opened a bag and poured the blood into the bag then drank it while Gaara entered, running a hand through his hair.

"Did I tell you how amazing you look in that kimono?" Gaara whispered as he wrapped an arm around me and pulled my back to his chest, careful not to make me spill my drink.

I smiled and looked up at him as he pressed his lips to mine. I pulled away first and finished my drink then washed the glass and threw away the bag. He leaned against a cabinet and watched me.

"What is it?" I cocked my head to the side, slightly as I walked to him.

"Is it wrong of me to say it's disturbing to watch you drink someone else's blood but doesn't bother me when you drink mine?" he breathed his voice husky.

"No, it's not," I smiled. "We are mated and you are becoming protective of me because of what my bite does. You gain more of Okami's knowledge so you start acting like a wolf would with their mate. I just can't drink your blood every day or I could kill you."

*******LEMON*******

He nodded in understanding as he pulled me into his arms and tilted my head upwards. He pressed his lips to mine as one of his hands squeezed my breast through the fabric. I smiled against his lips and transported us to the bathroom as I started to undo his clothes. He growled and started to pull at the obi that held my kimonos closed. He pulled that off and slid all three layers off at once.

I moaned as he squeezed my breasts again as he pressed me against the wall. I got his shirt off and went to unbutton his pants but he pulled my hands away. I frowned at him 'til he turned on the water for the tub and pulled the rest of his clothes off. He came back to me and pushed me against the wall again as we waited for the tub to fill. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself up and wrapped my legs around his waist, trapping his cock between us.

I smiled and ground against his erection, drawing a moan from his lips as he moved down to kiss my neck over the two crescent shaped scars he gave me. I tilted my head to the side and gave him more access to my neck and I felt him bite me hard. I cried out and clawed at his back from the sudden pain. He growled against my neck and I felt him suck at the wound he gave me for a few seconds.

He released his jaws and carried me to the tub and lowered both of us into the murky water. He turned off the water then went to attack my breasts as he pressed me against the edge of the tub. I moaned as he bit the tips and one of his hands went to squeeze my neglected breast as his other hand slid down and he shoved two fingers inside me.

I growled in pleasure and put one hand in his hair and pulled his head up to me roughly and I pressed my lips to his. He chuckled and kissed me roughly as he plunged his tongue into my mouth.

'_I want you inside of me,'_ I growled in his mind and pushed his hand out of my nether regions.

He broke our kiss and looked at me. "What about the child?"

"He's fine," I smiled. "I know you need a release and I want you in me."

He smiled and entered me gently. I pulled him back to me and kissed him roughly, running my tongue along his lips. He opened slightly and I shoved my tongue inside of his and his thrusts started to get faster and rougher. I smirked against his lips and he moved away and started to kiss my neck and headed down back to my breasts.

I tightened my walls against him and I heard his breathing become ragged as he came. He pulled out of me and slid down in the water. I smirked and wrapped my arms around his waist and rested against him.

*******END LEMON*******

"I love you Gaara," I whispered against his neck.

"I love you too Karin," he spoke, his voice rough from the recent release. "We need to get out. Unfortunately Tsunade was right that we need to get back to the sand. Temari and Kankuro will be anxious to see you moving around again."

"Okay," I sighed and stood up.

He followed and helped me out then helped me into a robe. I walked out of the bathroom and sat on the bed. I slid one hand inside my robe and caressed my stomach as I looked out the window. Gaara dressed then came out.

"Karin, are you okay?" he sat next to me and wrapped his arms around me.

"Yeah, just feeling his movements inside me," I whispered as I smiled at him. "He's definitely awake even if the movements are faint because he's not that far along."

He nodded, seeming content with the answer. He grabbed the kimono out of the bathroom and helped me dress. I sat back on the bed and dried my hair, deep in thought.

"Karin…"

"Hm?" I looked at him as he knelt down in front of me.

"I have a question," he looked down at his hands on my legs. He felt uneasy. "When I went through the Sound Village, searching for you after I lost the connection between us, some of the villagers spoke of a curse. Did you…"

"Yes," I whispered, placing my hands over his. "It was the only weapon I could truly take that wouldn't catch his gaze. I was able to keep the curse from taking Sasuke but the Akatsuki and Orochimaru got contaminated then I hid in the mountains so no one else got infected."

"Where are the scrolls now?"

"I destroyed them. I no longer have use for them and I refuse to let that curse get into someone else's hands. Why are you asking this now?"

"I still wonder how you survived and Madara was burned to ashes," he frowned as he stood up.

"Wait…what?" I stood up and made him look at me.

"The bond disappeared when you summoned all your chakra to destroy that machine, what happened after that?" he pressed.

"He came towards me with the intent to kill then darkness claimed me," I whispered, understanding how this was important.

"And when we arrived you were in a fetal position next to charred remains which we assumed was Madara cause we found a piece of the Akatsuki cloak that didn't burn. How did you survive?"

'_Okami," _I called. _'What do you know?'_

'_**Your child is more powerful than you know: a half-demon from Gaara, elemental powers from you. Your control over the bracelet let all the elements that you can summon infuse with his spirit. My guess that even at that time, he was aware of the auras around you and when you thought you were going to die, he felt threatened and released some of his power and that equals Madara barbeque.' **_Okami spoke to both of us then crawled back in her cage.

I looked up at Gaara and saw the same surprise on his face that was on mine. He pressed both hands to my stomach and I felt him release some chakra. The feeling of a small fire grew in my belly and rose up and my neck where my mark was burned. I grasped my neck and fell to my knees.

"Don't do that again," I gasped. "He got agitated by that."

"So he is aware of what's around him," Gaara whispered as he helped me stand. "Come, we should tell Tsunade of our plans for her and the ones we want at the wedding so we can be getting home."

I nodded and let him pull me into his arms and carry my out of the house. He held me close and I had my arms around my stomach, sending calming emotions down to the unborn child within my womb.

At the Hokage building, we entered the office and Gaara placed me on the couch. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Gai, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, and Kurenai were all standing in front of Tsunade's desk.

"Karin, how are you fairing?" Tsunade came and knelt in front of me.

"My stomach is a little agitated," I whispered, glaring at Gaara.

"What did he do?" Naruto came over and growled.

"He agitated it. It is aware of its surroundings and that's how I'm alive right now and Madara Uchiha is dead. The machine of the Akatsuki that was able to extract the tailed-beasts has been destroyed and that's why I was unconscious for the past few months," I whispered.

"Madara?" Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Yes, the letter was correct. He wanted to be the one to control the final beast once every tailed beast was extracted, but I got to the cavern before he could make it disappear and shoved every ounce of Charka my beast and I possessed into it and it shattered. I was close to unconsciousness when he started to lunge to attack me and darkness claimed me.

"Gaara told me that they found his charred remains and me unharmed. Our guess was that even then he was aware of what's around us and saved me by drawing on my element of fire. Gaara tested it and agitated the child," I explained.

"Child? What child?" Kurenai spoke.

"My child," I whispered, not looking at any of them.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review**


	31. Blood Loss and Gain

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER THIRTY: BLOOD LOSS AND GAIN**

**GAARA'S POINT OF VIEW**

"WHAT?"

The scream of 11 Shinobi echoed the room that Karin had to clamp her hands over her ears. Karin whimpered as she wrapped her arms around her stomach and fell forward. I felt the pain of her mark through the bond as I caught her from hitting the floor.

"Everyone, step back and be silent or who knows what could happen," Tsunade ordered, stepping back as well.

I looked up at her and tears were falling down her cheeks. I moved her hands to the side and pressed both hands to her stomach, sending some healing chakra to the child and I heard her sigh as she fell against me. Tsunade came over and helped me lay her on the couch before I glared at everyone in the room that had yelled.

"Was that really necessary? If you were actually listening, her child is aware of both of their surroundings and all of your yelling agitated him and it hurt her. Keep all outbursts silent until you're not in the same room as her," I snapped and they stepped back.

"Would you care to explain to us what is exactly going on? Kakashi spoke.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata sat on the floor in front of the couch behind me, since they already knew. I growled at the Jounin and wanted to slap him but I felt Karin calming me through the bond.

'_Don't let Hisashi out,'_ I heard her say weakly and I looked at her. Her eyes were half-closed and turned to the side away from everyone. Her arms were wrapped around her stomach protectively.

"Karin is pregnant with my child," I spoke after I calmed myself. I saw Ino's shoulders slump with rejection and I internally smirked. "With the genetics of her and myself, the child is already strong and can sense the world outside of the womb."

"Are you married or something?" Hinata stammered.

"Not yet, but as soon as we get back to the Sand, we will be. That's why we came up here before we left. All of you that are here in this room, we would like to be there," Karin whispered as she turned her head towards the group. "We thought that it would be easiest if you came now with us, instead of us sending a bird back in a couple days."

"Makes sense," Kurenai smiled. "I'm game."

The others in the room agreed and left to get a bag packed so they could be in the Sand for a few days. Tsunade sat back at her desk and went back to looking over her work. She frowned and then got up and knelt next to Karin and took vitals.

"She's already asleep. That outburst really took a toll on her and the child, didn't it?" Tsunade sighed as she stood up and looked at me.

I nodded and sat on the armrest of the couch.

"Do you know what bond she was talking about when I had summoned you?"

"Yes, Karin had a set of scrolls from her world that could bind two people together so they could hear each other's thoughts and emotions. She did the bond with me right before she left to confront Orochimaru then when she returned to destroy the machine, the bond disappeared. My guess that she did a chakra overload that numbed the bond," I whispered. "Don't tell anybody though."

"I can keep a secret every now and then," she smiled. "I won't be able to come to your wedding though. There's too much to do and Shizune can't do everything by herself. She usually tends to make a mistake every now and then. Just the other day when I was taking care of Karin, she sent a group of Genin on a B-ranked mission and didn't even realize it. She's a good assistant but there are some things she can't do."

I nodded and looked at Karin. Her eyes were closed and I saw tears drying on her cheeks. I sighed and waited for the Leaf Shinobi to come back.

"She's definitely fragile even if she denies it," Tsunade laughed from her place behind her desk. "That child will give you a run for you money if he's anything like he is now when he comes out."

I chuckled and there was a knock on the door.

"Enter."

Kakashi entered with a small bag in his hand. "The group is waiting at the gates. I came to tell Lord Gaara that we're ready."

I nodded and pulled Karin into my arms and walked out after bowing my head to Tsunade. We walked through the streets quickly and didn't even stop when we came to the gates. The group caught up to us and we set a fast pace jumping through the trees to get to the desert.

Night fell and we were at the edge of the desert. We set up camp and I kept Karin in my arms. Karin was still asleep and it worried me as well as the others, especially since she was paler than normal. I probed her mind and found the cage of her beast.

'_Okami, can you hear me?'_ I thought urgently.

'_**Yes I can, what's wrong?'**_

'_Karin hasn't woken up at all today during our travels. Is she okay?'_

'_**Give me a sec, I'll check.'**_ She disappeared from my mind for a few minutes and I stared at Karin's face while I waited. _**'She's fine, that outburst took a lot out of her. Try that healing technique again, it seemed to calm him down before.'**_

I summoned the green chakra to my hand and placed it on her stomach again. She stirred in my arms, opened her eyes and smiled at me then snuggled closer and closed her eyes again. I probed her mind and saw that she was still awake.

'_Are you okay?' _I thought to her.

'_Yes, I'm just tired and haven't had my sustenance yet,'_ her voice whispered in my mind.

'_Does it have to be certain blood?'_

'_Can I drink from you since you're just going to sleep soon?' _ She opened her eyes and looked up at me. I nodded slightly and stood up with her still in my arms. _'Bring Kakashi, he knows of my blood stages.'_

"We'll be back, Kakashi can you help me?" I spoke and walked out of the tree clearing. Kakashi stood up and followed quickly. We walked a way's away before I sat back down. "Karin told me you know of her random blood periods, this true?"

'_You think I'm lying?'_ she growled.

'_No, I'm just making sure he actually understands what's happening right now,' _I thought to her gently.

"Yes, I helped her through it," he laughed as he pulled up the sleeve of his right arm. There were a few sets of bite marks scaring the skin. "Is she in need of it now?"

"Yes, but she just wanted you to come so no one walks in and sees this," I spoke as I unbuttoned the top few buttons of my shirt and helped Karin sit up and have access to my neck.

He nodded and jumped into a tree. Karin bit into my neck and I held her waist to keep her from falling and tearing my neck with her. We sat there for some time; her sucking was slow and feeble. After a couple minutes Kakashi jumped down from the tree and ran into the forest.

"What do you need, Naruto?" I heard him growl.

"I came to see if Karin was alright," I heard Naruto whine.

"We're taking care of it, go back to the camp or no ramen when we get back to the Leaf," Kakashi threatened.

"Okay," Naruto said quickly then Kakashi came back into the clearing.

"She's really weak isn't she, if it's taking this long," Kakashi came over and moved Karin's hair away and he looked at her face. "She always knows what point to stop, but I wonder if she needs more that what she can get from you. Karin, release him."

Kakashi placed both hands on her shoulders and pulled at her gently. She released and collapsed in my arms, breathing shallow. Kakashi pulled his sleeve back again and she grabbed his arm and bit into it.

"Sometimes when she got too weak, it took more blood. A few times she took too much blood from me and I fell unconscious," Kakashi whispered to me as he knelt in front of us. "It was an interesting feeling, knowing that she could suck you dry if the situation called for it."

I averted my eyes and looked past Kakashi into the forest. It was quiet except for the slow sucking noises from Karin and the animal life finding homes to bed down for the night. She finally broke away from Kakashi's arm and licked her lips. Her face was flushed and she sat up in my lap with some help from me.

"Are you feeling better, little wolf?" Kakashi asked as he helped her stand so I could get up. I swayed slightly and he caught me. "Took a bit more from you than I thought, come on, let's head back. Karin hop onto my back that way I can still steady Gaara."

She obeyed silently as she sent an apology through the bond. I forgave her instantly as we walked back. Once we were feet from entering the camp, Kakashi let go of my arm and Karin slid off his back only to start falling to the ground. She would have hit the ground if Kakashi hadn't spun around and caught her. Kakashi pulled her into his arms as we entered the camp.

"Hey, Kakashi what happened? Gaara why are you paler?"

"Naruto, enough!" Kakashi growled as I lied down on a bed roll and Kakashi laid Karin in my arms. Then he went over and hit Naruto on the head. "You ask too many questions that don't concern you. If they wanted you to know, they would have told you. Get some rest everybody, we got a full day of traveling ahead of us," Kakashi spoke then sat next to me.

Everyone listened and soon the camp was full of deep breathing and the light snoring, then you got the food fight sleep talking from Naruto. I looked down at Karin and her eyes were closing slowly as she tried to stay awake. I put a hand on her face and closed her eyes for her and she gave in to sleep.

"Gaara, tomorrow we'll switch off carrying her since you got more taken during her feeding," I heard Kakashi whisper. "I want to push to get to Suna as fast as we can so Karin can get the proper feeding she requires. It may take a couple bags of blood to do it thought."

"Alright," I whispered then closed my eyes and let sleep take over.

The travelling the next day took its toll on Kakashi, Karin and me. We all had to have help from everyone else. Naruto and Sasuke had to help me, while Karin was in Kurenai's arms and Gai was helping Kakashi. The group of shinobi was really confused at why the three of us were so weak and they tried to press the issue of what happened last night when we had left the clearing but no one said anything. Karin slept most of the time, only waking to check on me and Kakashi then went back to sleep.

By the end of the day when the sun started to set, we reached the cliffs of the sand village. Sand Shinobi rushed out to us and took Karin and me away and Gai took Kakashi and followed quickly. The rest of the group ran into Kankuro and Temari who were smiling.

We were rushed to the hospital and I ordered to have the three of us in the same room and only have my personal doctor come in. I explained the situation and he rushed out to get some bags of my blood that I always had on hand in case I needed a blood transfusion or something. Then he came back and I kicked him out and woke up Karin. She sat up and looked at me.

I gave her the glass with my blood and she drank it slowly, still quite weak. Kakashi was asleep on the couch and I sat on the bed next to Karin and rested my head against the wall and dozed off.

"Lord Gaara, we heard that you had returned!" the door to the room opened and Councilor Maki entered. I opened my eyes and sat up to hide Karin who was still drinking the first bag of blood.

**COUNCILOR MAKI'S POINT OF VIEW**

"Lord Gaara, we heard that you had returned!"

I opened the door to his private hospital room and saw him dozing against the wall on the bed next to Lady Karin who was drinking a dark red liquid and her eyes were that of her wolf. On the couch was Kakashi Hatake, the Leaf's Copy Ninja. Gaara straightened up and hid my view of Lady Karin, but not before I caught sight of a purple amethyst ring on her left ring finger.

"I am quite sure I demanded that no one enter here and interrupt us," he growled.

"We are your councilors and we were worried when word reached us that you were sent straight to the hospital on your return," I spoke calmly. "What happened?"

"Does not matter, we know why we are so weak and it does not concern you."

"I beg to differ, Lord Gaara, you are the leader of this village and everyone is worried, even those Leaf Shinobi that came with you. They said that you three disappeared in the woods and the Leaf Jinchuuriki followed only to be sent back because he threatened him." I pointed to Kakashi. "Then when you returned you all were weaker."

"It is our own issue, now leave!"

"Lord Gaara…"

His eyes turned black and his sand swirled dangerously around the room. Kakashi woke up startled and pulled out a kunai then froze as he saw Gaara's face. Karin peered around Gaara's body like a little child and laughed when she saw his face.

"You might as well leave, Councilor Maki," she smiled. "He's very unpredictable like this."

"Is it the Shukaku?"

"Nope," she smiled. "It's just Hisashi who is much worse than an angry Shukaku. Leave cause I won't control him because you kinda deserve it."

I left the room confused and walked out of the hospital building.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**Please review**


	32. Plans and Arrivals

**I don't own any characters except Karin.**

**Please read and review**

**...**

**CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: PLANS AND ARRIVALS**

**KARIN'S POINT OF VIEW**

Councilor Maki left and Gaara shoved Hisashi back into the back of his mind. Kakashi stared cautiously as he slid his Kunai back into its pouch. I went back to drinking the blood, not really bothered by the whole thing because Gaara had released Hisashi on purpose.

"May I ask what just happened?" Kakashi stood up.

"I have a beast inside me that was passed on from my mother before she died that was not the Shukaku. It was an actual demon," Gaara explained as he opened the other bag of blood and poured it into my glass for me.

I drank that one quickly, wanting to get out of the hospital. Kakashi was slightly confused but nodded. He got an explanation that made some sense. As soon as I finished, I got off the bed carefully and smiled that I wasn't lightheaded at all. I walked over to the sink and washed out the glass then threw the blood bags away.

"Are you two okay to leave? I don't like hospitals," I looked at the two of them.

"Yes, we can rest at the house," Gaara nodded as he got off the bed but swayed. I rushed to him and steadied him. "I am sorry, I took too much and the traveling didn't help any."

"It's alright, Karin, your back to normal and let's hope the child doesn't have another outburst," Gaara whispered as he buried his face against my neck for a second and took a few breathes. _'Your scent is intoxicating.'_

I smiled and pushed him away from my neck and helped him walk. Kakashi seemed to be back to normal or he was just hiding it really well like usual. We hurried out of the hospital and went to Gaara's house where the Leaf shinobi were waiting and eating what Temari had prepared for them.

"Karin, you're okay!"

Naruto jumped up and ran to us. I glared at him and he stopped feet from us. Kakashi grasped his shoulder and had him help him to the couch. As soon as Kakashi was sitting he slouched and rested his head on the back and was out like a light.

I sighed and helped Gaara down the hall to his room and laid him down. "Rest and I'll bring something in for you to eat," I kissed his tattoo then left the room.

I walked to the main room and touched Kakashi's shoulder and transported us to my room where he landed on the bed. I smirked as I saw him not even flinch or move a muscle. I transported back to the main room and saw two plates on a tray that Temari was holding. She walked with me down to Gaara's room and placed the tray on the end of the bed. She hugged me tightly then left smiling. I sat on the bed and Gaara moved so he was laying on his stomach and right next to the tray.

"Gaara, I was wondering…how is it that you're able to summon sand anywhere you are but you don't even have your gourd on your back anymore?" I whispered as he picked up one of the rolls and ate it.

"I still have that layer of sand on my body that is at my immediate disposal," he answered.

"Why do you still need that shield?" I asked, remembering when he last used during the preliminaries of the third Chunin tests.

"It's easier than walking around with the gourd sometimes," he chuckled as I saw sand fly around us and a gourd was created that was resting against the wall.

I smirked and we finished eating then he pulled off his shoes and got under the covers. I picked up the tray and walked back to the kitchen where everyone was sitting around and catching up. Temari came to me and took the tray from me and put it on the counter then she pulled me to the living room.

My baby kicked my stomach and my mark burned at the roughness. I collapsed to my knees and cried out as one hand clutched my neck and the other wrapped around my stomach. Temari knelt next to me confused while Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto rushed to me. Sakura summoned her healing chakra and pressed her hand to my neck and stomach, calming the baby down.

"Thanks," I whispered, taking a deep breath. "Temari you need to be gentle with me right now."

"Why is that?" she asked, confused.

I looked at my former team and they nodded and explained to Kankuro and Temari about my condition, while Neji came over and helped me over to sit on the couch. I took a deep breath and accepted the glass of water that Hinata grabbed.

"Wow… so we are going to get you as a sister and I'm going to be an uncle," Kankuro smiled. "That's different. I always thought it would be Temari or I who married first."

I chuckled lightly then went into the plans for the wedding. Temari caught on and smiled. I got up and nodded to everyone and let them handle the plans and I went down to Gaara's room and laid down next to him and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Zaraki Kenpachi, his pink haired lieutenant whose name escaped me again, Renji Abarai, Sui-Feng, Shunsui Kyoraku and Jushiro Ukitake landed next to me in the desert and we looked around. I frowned and looked at the ground to see if there were any tracks, but the wind was blowing and there was nothing to find. I heard the squirt whimper and jumped up onto Zaraki's back.<p>

"What do we do now?" Sui-Feng asked.

"Let's see if heading towards that haze on the horizon will help, it may be trees," Ukitake spoke as he looked east.

"Alright, lets go," I ordered and we started running.

We all were forced to change into simple tunics and pants to look like commoners. I was forced to pull my hair down but was able to keep my scarf. I was in a dark violet tunic and white pants while everyone else was wearing tans, whites, and blacks. I refused to look like a commoner, I was too prideful for that.

It was nightfall before we reached the forests and everyone was spent. Kyoraku and Utitake started a fire as Renji pulled out some food so we could eat. Zaraki said he'd take first watch and the rest of us went to bed.

... ... ...

No Point of Vew

"Are you sure we should be here?" Yachiru whispered to Zaraki as she sat next to him. "We helped her and now we are betraying her. What would she think...?"

"Yachiru, it will work out. When we find out where she is, we will find a way to get a message to her if we can, but I can't promise anything. Byakuya is in charge and if General Yamamoto finds out the truth then we'll be in trouble," Zaraki whispered back. "We'll just have to see if we can find an opportunity to help her still."

"Alright, Zaraki," the pink-haired girl whispered and leaned against him and went to sleep.

...

...

...

...

...

..

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Sorry everyone this is all I have so far. I'm caught up to what I have on my flash drive and now everything that is coming up is going to be fresh off the press so to speak. I've had the rough draft for AW foras while and just barel putting it on. I'm not exactly used to people reading my stories but have becone better at it. **


	33. Giving Them The Slip

Sorry that I haven't updated as fast as I have done before with the earlier chapters. I have about twenty stories that I flip through and work on and got distracted. For those who are still reading my story thank you for bearing with me.

P.S. I don't own anything except Karin

P.P.S. READ AND REVIEW

...

...

...

**CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: GIVING THEM THE SLIP**

We found a populated village after traveling through the forest for a couple more days and entered. People were everywhere, most wearing head protectors that had some kind of swirled leaf carved into them. At the gate, we were stopped by two or three men.

"State your name and your business strangers," one ordered.

"We will talk to the leader of the village, no one else," Byakuya spoke professionally. "Our business does not concern commoners like you."

"Calm down, "Sui-Feng snapped. "We have a mission, be nice or go home. We are searching for someone and we were wondering if your leader would know anything. Could you take us to them or have them come out to us?"

"What's going on here?" a dark-haired woman came over wearing a black kimono and mesh leggings and sleeves.

"Shizune, these strangers wish to see the Hokage," one man spoke.

"Who are you?" the woman, Shizune, turned her dark eyes on us.

"My name is Sui-Feng and we are a search mission for someone from our village," the second division captain spoke while bowing. "Could we please talk to your leader?"

"If you promise to not draw your weapons at all in this village then you may follow me."

We followed her as she walked deeper into the village and people stopped and stared as we pasted. I whimpered and tightened my grip on Zaraki's tunic as I stayed on his back. It took a few minutes before Shizune led us into a large building and up a set of stairs.

"Shizune!" a blonde woman who's breasts could have rivaled Rangiku Matsumoto's breasts came out of a room, her face slightly red.

"Ma'am, I am right here. This group as requested to see you. They have no village symbols and only she would tell us a name. Sui-Feng, this is Lady Tsunade, the fifth Hokage of Konohagakure."

"Come inside, all of you," the woman Tsunade smiled and led us into a large room with a couch and a desk. She sat at the desk and looked at us expectantly. "How may I be able to help you?"

"We are on a mission to search for someone who is a criminal," Byakuya spoke coldly.

"Byakuya," Sui-Feng hit him on the head and looked back at the blond woman. "Forgive him. We were sent to search for a girl who has eluded our grasp for about four years now. Have you seen this girl?" Sui-Feng pulled Karin's picture out of her kimono and laid it on the desk.

Tsunade picked up the picture and her eyes narrowed. "What would a child have done to become a criminal? Even if I did know who she was, I still am curious now that you've brought it to my attention."

"She murdered one of our leaders personal guards and we have followed her tracks to this area," Renji spoke as he eyed his captain cautiously who was now glaring at the woman. "She has also injured three of our team when she escaped."

"My, my, I guess I'll have to sent out a warning to the other villages and tell them to look out for this child. If you would like to stay, we can find a few hotel rooms so you can rest up. It takes days to get to the nearest village."

"We will gladly accept your offer, Lady Tsunade," Shunsui smiled, flirtatiously.

"Shizune!" she called.

"Yes ma'am," Shizune entered the room. "Find a couple rooms for them so they can rest up from their journey."

"Very well ma'am, if you would follow me please," Shizune bowed then left the room. The other five left quickly, wanting to rest but Zaraki didn't move from his place.

"Yes is there something else you need?" Tsunade rose a brow.

"Yachiru and I are not trying to hurt Karin in any way. We came with them to try and warn her before they found her. The others may have not noticed that you recognized the picture, but I saw your hands clench up slightly. Please tell her that Zaraki Kenpachi sent a warning that Soul Society is hot on her trail," Zaraki whispered as he walked closer to the desk. "She was more of my student than anybody and I don't want her to be hurt."

"Quite observant, I see Zaraki," Tsunade spoke cautiously.

"Give her this," I whispered as I pulled out my division squad arm band. "She'll understand the warning."

"I don't know if she will be able to go anywhere at the moment. She isn't in this village but her body isn't in any condition to be traveling very much. She is pregnant with one of the other village leader's child. That child has taken much out of her cause of its power."

"I need to see her," Zaraki whispered urgently. "Where is she? I'll tell the leader of this mission that I'm just heading home and go. I know she'll need me."

Tsunade looked at Zaraki for a minute then sighed. She pulled out a map and laid it across the desk. She pointed to a large country, "this is where you are now. She's here," she pointed to a country west of the one she had just pointed. "It takes about two to three days to get to the sand village, depending on speed. If I learn that you lied to me then I'll hunt you down. She is one of the nation's best warriors."

"I give you my word that I promise that I have not deceived you in any way. Once I leave, is there any way you could watch my team and make sure they stay a few days to rest up."

"Of course. I'll send a message ahead with the girl's armband so they can look out for you."

Zaraki hurried out of the room and caught up with the group easily and no one had noticed that he had left. We went to the hotel where Shizune had gotten a couple rooms and went inside. Once everyone was seated in one of the rooms, Zaraki headed towards the door, making sure everyone saw.

"Where are you going Captain Kempachi?" Sui-Feng asked.

"Home, this is boring. I won't get a fight so what's the point. Karin has obviously made sure to keep herself hidden and you all know I'm no tracker," Zaraki spoke monotonously. "Mayuri gave us all our own crystals to get back to the city so I decided that once you guys had settled, Yachiru and I would return."

"Oh, alright," Ukitake smiled. "Be careful, these people are very cautious."

Zaraki nodded and we left. Through the village, people got out of the way and watched us pass. As soon as we passed through the gate, Zaraki started to head west.

* * *

><p>Karin was sleeping on the couch in my office while I worked. She refused to let me leave her side since I proposed to her. Her stomach was definitely starting to show the lump when she was lying down on her back. I smiled then went back to reading over a scroll from the Daimyo.<p>

"Gaara, a letter has come from the Leaf and they sent some kind of band with it," Kankuro came in and walked to me. "Has she been sleeping all morning?"

"Yes, how is Temari doing with all the wedding arrangements?"

"It's going quickly with the help of the Leaf shinobi."

I nodded and opened the scroll and read it quickly. My eyes widened and I picked up the arm band and got up. I knelt by Karin and shook her. She opened her eyes and yawned as she stretched then looked at me. I handed her the arm band and she sat up faster than I thought was possible for her being pregnant and she studied it.

"Where did you get this?" her voice wavered.

"Tsunade sent it. Apparently a band of shinobi turned up at her village and a man named Zaraki Kempachi is headed towards Sunagakure. Do you know him?"

"Y…yes..." her voice shook, "but how did he get here? Who else was with him…?" her body trembled.

"Karin, what's wrong?" Kankuro came over.

"They are from my world! How could they possibly be able to come here?" her voice rose and her chest started to rise and fall faster as she started to hyperventilate.

"Kankuro, get a few shinobi and head out and see if you can find this Zaraki, Karin what does he look like?" she sent me an image through the bond. "He's tall and with him will be a young pink-haired girl. He'll look scary to you."

"I'm on it," Kankuro bowed then bolted out of the room.

"Karin, you need to calm down. Think of the baby," I spoke making her look at me. "We'll work this out. You won't ever be hurt by them. you have three leaf teams here and all of Sunagakure. It will be okay."

…

….

…

….

…

..

Please Review!


	34. Plans and After Parties

I don't own anything except Karin

READ AND REVIEW

…

…

…

**CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: PLANS AND AFTER PARTIES**

I led the team out of the village and headed in the direction of the leaf, hoping to find this Zaraki Kempachi. Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Shikamaru and Neji were following closely. We traveled in silence for a couple hours before we saw any change in the view in front of us. A single person was headed towards us. We stopped and waited as he came closer.

The man was HUGE! He towered over us and was solid muscle. One of his eyes was hidden by an eye patch and then a girl peered over his shoulder. She frowned and looked at the man she was holding on to. He stopped before us and looked at all of us.

"Who are you?" I asked professionally.

"It doesn't matter to common soldiers. I have to get somewhere," he growled as he stepped past us.

"To Sunagakure to see a certain girl?" I called and he stopped and looked at us. "Are you Zaraki Kempachi?"

He nodded and turned to look at us. "Who are you?"

"Our leader sent us to come make sure you found the village okay. We received Lady Tsunade's message and that armband she sent only hours ago," I spoke. "We were to take you to the village and right up to see Karin."

"Let's go then, I have to warn her," he growled and we started running.

* * *

><p>I hunched over and held my stomach as my child got agitated my panic. I was sure that I was going to be bruised majorly by all the kicks and beatings he was giving me. Gaara wrapped his arms around me and sent some of his healing jutsu into my stomach to calm him. Once he finally calmed, I dried my eyes and leaned against Gaara, tiredly.<p>

"I'm tired," I mumbled.

"Well if you didn't act so panicked all the time then maybe you wouldn't be so exhausted," Gaara chuckled as he kissed my head. "I have a few more things then I should be done and we can go back to the house."

"Okay," I whispered and lied back down as he stood up and went back to the desk. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't. I stood up and walked over to where Gaara was working and I leaned against the desk. He sat back and looked up at me. "Have you thought of any names for him yet?"

What do you think of Kouhei?" he spoke as he pulled me into his lap.

"I like it besides the fact that with the way he is right now, it's complete opposite of his name," I giggled. "He is too attuned to both of our feelings that he's restless."

"True, but still," he reasoned as he kissed my brow. "With you distracting me, I won't get done anytime soon."

"Sorry, but I couldn't go back to sleep," I whispered as I laid my head on his shoulder. "It's too cold without you."

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Gaara called, holding me close. Kankuro came in. "What did you find?"

"He's here waiting in the hall. Should he come in?" Kankuro asked and I nodded.

Kankuro talked to someone in the hallway then stepped aside as Zaraki came in. I got out of Gaara's arms carefully so I didn't push myself anymore and walked over to him. He wrapped an arm around me and I smiled for a second before pulling away.

"How are you here?" I asked as Yachiru got off his back and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Mayuri has made a gate. He started making it the day you came here. Byakuya is here, you need to leave," he spoke urgently. "They have orders that if they can't take you back, they'll kill you."

"Who else is here?"

"Sui-Feng, Renji Abarai, Shunsui Kyoraku, and Jushiro Ukitake."

"Four captains?" I gasped and almost fell if Gaara hadn't summoned his sand to stabilize me as he got out of his seat and came to me. "It's been four years, why can't they just give up?"

"Karin breath," Gaara growled as he made me look at him. "Think of the child."

"So you are pregnant," Yachiru giggled and pressed her hands to my stomach.

I closed my eyes and took a few breaths before opening them. "Why are you here and not with the team that is sent to retrieve me?"

"I told them I was headed back to the city. I had to find a way to warn you before they came and caught you without any warning. I've taught you almost everything you know Karin, you have grown on my like Yachiru did."

I nodded and then my head was reeling with a plan. I smiled then pulled away from Gaara and ran out of the office and past a surprised group of shinobi then out into the streets. At the house, Temari almost died when I burst in and I ran up to my room.

I pulled out the old book _'Death Kills'_ that I had read so many times and flipped through it quickly, trying to find the page I needed. I found it and stared at it, trying to memorize the patterns and symbols. In the book, one Shinigami used a technique and transformed himself to look and seem like a normal human and his features had been modified.

"Karin?" Gaara entered the room and I looked at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I have an idea from this book."

"Isn't that a fiction?"

"Yes, but it's actually about my world. So either fiction or someone knew about our kind or a Shinigami came to this world at one point. Your world has a transformation jutsu so we just need to modify it so Zaraki, Yachiru, and my Reiryoku are not noticeable as well. I'm done running," I growled.

"Karin, think of the baby," Gaara growled pulling me to my feet.

"I am, Gaara and running won't be good for him or for me at this point. I've been running for four years and I'm tired of it. If we looked like different people and dressed like your village and wore the headband protectors, we could probably give them the slip. Kankuro could create a puppet that looks like me and make it look like he was killing it when they show up then burn the body. They'd think I was dead and give up and go home."

"It's a well thought out plan, little wolf, but what if they don't buy it?" Zaraki spoke as he came in with Yachiru dancing in behind him.

"Then we spread rumors around that she passed through and left and we were practicing killing my puppet. It's flawless."

"You came up with this within a few minutes?" Kankuro came in with Temari.

"I guess so. I was always a master strategist, you guys know that," I looked at all of them.

"There's no harm in trying it. Kankuro start working on that puppet immediately. Temari, go through the village and tell them that we will be having a few guests arrive, but don't tell them the full plan. If this plan works then once they leave then we'll explain to them what actually happened. If not then they'll figure it out soon enough," Gaara spoke as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Oh, I completely forgot, everything is planned for the wedding," Temari smiled. "Should we do that be for these people come?"

"I think that would be perfect, having people in a light mood then when those Shinigami come it will change dramatically if everyone thinks our plan is real," I smiled.

* * *

><p>Temari had really gone all out for the after party. The whole village crowded the streets under strung lights that went from house to house throughout the area near the Kazekage building. I looked around and hadn't seen Karin yet since our 'I dos.' Everyone else was there, even Temari, but not her. I made my way over to her.<p>

"Temari, where's Karin?" I whispered in her ear.

Temari's eyes widened and she spun around searching. "She was just here…"

"She left with Kakashi, something about having him help her get some food cause she was hungry," Sasuke came over, holding a glass of punch.

"Oh, okay, thank you Sasuke," I smiled and relaxed. I knew what that meant…blood.

...

...

...

...

...

Please review!


	35. Freedom

I own nothing except Karin!

Please read and review!

…

…

…

**CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: FREEDOM**

As soon as the wedding was completely over, we started our plans and I transformed myself. I looked like a 10 year old with light blond hair that went mid-back and exquisite turquoise eyes. The bump of my stomach was nonexistent but I still felt him when he was agitated. The mark on my neck from Okami was invisible. I wore a plain red kimono and black sandals as my hair cascaded down my back. With my appearances, I was just going to act like the other children, but stay close to Temari in case the baby started to act up.

The Shinigami were due to arrive any day now, Tsunade had told them to come here next since the Leaf and Sand were allies and she knew we had a plan so she didn't worry. She sent a message a day ago, saying that they left the village.

The villagers were still celebrating and didn't even question the three new faces in the crowds. Temari kept a hold of my hand everywhere we went outside of the house and I had to smile. She was a very protective sister, especially since I was five months along.

"Lord Gaara, there are four men and a woman headed towards the village, should we raise alarms?" an ANBU Black Ops appeared in front of Temari, Kankuro, Gaara and me.

"No let them come in. We are celebrating my wedding so no alarms. If they are a threat then we'll send up alarms," Gaara spoke as he nodded to Kankuro who disappeared. Then the ANBU left. "Kankuro says he has a surprise puppet along with the one we had him create. I'm kind of excited to see what he has planned."

"So am I, let's just hope this plan works. I don't want to lose my sister," Temari spoke, squeezing my hand.

"We won't lose her, I won't allow it," Gaara growled and looked down at me and smiled.

"I'll go do some surveillance on them," I whispered then jumped up onto a roof with Temari and we ran to the cliffs. "What is this surprise that Kankuro has up his sleeve?"

"I don't know but I do know that if this plan goes through then you'll be free from them and we all can relax," Temari whispered and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"There they are. Sui-Feng is the woman, the black haired one in front with the scarf is Byakuya Kuchiki, his lieutenant, Renji Abarai, is the red head, the one wearing pink and the brown curly hair is Shunsui Kyoraku, and the one with the grey hair is Jushiro Ukitake. Kami help us all," I whispered. "They all have their zanpaktos, so this may be ugly if the original plan fails. Zaraki and Yachiru will leave as soon as the plan is finished so it looks like he came back with the others."

"Stop being so negative, it will work," Temari growled to reassure me.

I nodded and we ran back to the Kazekage building and waited in the office for the Shinigami to be led here. They would ask their questions then Gaara would signal Kankuro with his sand to initiate the plan and we'd go from there. I twitched on the couch, wishing I could be with Gaara but we had to keep up appearances. The village thought that I had gotten sick and that was the reason that I hadn't shown appearances when I was just in front of them under a transformation jutsu.

"Lord Gaara, they have arrived and wish to see you," the secretary came in and her eyes held some fear.

"Have them come in," Gaara spoke.

She nodded and left then soon they came in. Temari kept an arm around my shoulder to keep me from trembling visibly and running out of there. Gaara looked at me out of the corner of his eye and then turned his attention to them.

"How may I help you?" Gaara spoke professionally.

"You…!" Renji snapped and glared at him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again even though you've tried to kill myself once before," Gaara spoke smirking, holding his composure easily. "What is your objective of being here?"

"Where is Karin?"

"I have honestly no idea," Gaara lied smoothly. "I haven't seen her in a while."

"Why you..?"

"Renji stop," Byakuya snapped. "When was the last time you saw her?"

"A few days maybe," Gaara shrugged.

"LADY KARIN HAS HEALED!" a few villagers cried as the plan went into motion.

The five ran out of the office and we followed quickly. They ran out into the streets and I saw two puppets that looked exactly like humans and I would have never guessed that they were fake, if i hadn't known that Kankuro was a puppet master. I saw my own self walking down the street and I saw a puppet of Zaraki following, his dented blade in his hand.

* * *

><p>Karin stopped walking down the street, wearing a plain black kimono and I saw a ring on her left hand. I saw Zaraki coming down the street and I blinked in surprise. He said he had decided to go home. Karin spun around right as Zaraki ran his blade through her. A scream came from her mouth and I saw blood pour from the wound. The villagers gasped and started drew their kunai and started running to Zaraki but Yachiru appeared and activated her Zanpakto, scaring them off. Then Zaraki and Yachiru jumped up onto a roof and ran off.<p>

"Lady Karin," many of the females in the village fell to their knees and sobbed.

"Those five are with that man! They planned this!" the blond from the leader's office cried.

I looked around and saw all the men with drawn weapons as they glared at us.

"You have killed Lady Karin! You will die for destroying our village's light and the wife of Lord Gaara!" they ran at us and we backed up.

"Break up and get outside the village!" I snapped. "Activate the crystals, our work here is finished. Dealing with miserable people is not on our to do list!"

"Yes Byakuya," Sui-Feng spoke and she disappeared.

"She was pregnant!" the blond cried, holding Karin's body to her chest as tears fell down her cheeks. "How could you…?"

I narrowed my eyes and looked at the leader, Gaara. His eyes were narrowed with hatred and I saw sand floating around him. He moved his hands quickly and the sand flew towards me and Renji as we retreated towards the huge cliffs that protected this village. I sensed the Reiryoku of my team disappear as they left to soul society and I activated my crystal and grabbed Renji's arm and we disappeared.

"So… how was it? Did you finish the mission?" Mayuri spoke as we came out of the gate. Zaraki appeared right behind us and Yachiru was smiling. "Ah, looks like someone's enjoying themselves."

"Zaraki, why were you there? You said you were going to come back," Sui-Feng snapped.

"I was planning on it then I saw her leaving the village so I followed. I found myself in that sand village and I kept low and looked for her. I found her coming out of a house and followed til I was close enough then finished it. I knew that we'd have to kill her by surprise because otherwise she would have changed into her demon form and we wouldn't have won in bringing her back," Zaraki spoke. "I didn't even know that you had arrived that day."

"Well, for what it's worth, we don't have to worry about her anymore. She's dead and now we can continue on with our lives. Mayuri destroy the gate so no other Shinigami gets the idea that they can get through the gate to get away from the city," I ordered. "I'll go report the mission to General Yamatoto and then I'm going to go and eat a decent meal."

"Yes Captain Kuchiki," everyone nodded and I left.

* * *

><p>The villagers were in shock as I stood in front of them. I had released the transformation jutsu and Kankuro came down from the roofs with his two new puppets. Now they looked like puppets. Kakashi appeared next to us, Naruto and Sasuke was supporting him and he looked worn out. He had used genjutsu to make it look more believable. The plan had worked perfectly.<p>

"Lady Karin, are you truly pregnant?" someone asked and I nodded, making the whole village explode into cheers.

I winced but the child was more aware that they were not being threatened and only kicked my stomach gently. Gaara wrapped an arm around my waist and drew me in close to him. I smiled and closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder. No longer would I have to look over my shoulder for a Shinigami to be sneaking around, getting ready to kill me.

"Temari, your acting skills don't do you any justice," I smiled and she laughed as she finished drying her face. "I'm surprised that you broke down so fast."

"Pure acting," she smiled. "It's a specialty besides my fan."

"Well then I guess I'll have to be careful with how you act," I laughed and kissed Gaara's cheek. "We don't have to worry anymore about threats. They would have destroyed the gate they came in from and Zaraki said that he'd make sure that it's properly destroyed."

'_Good, now you can stay by my side for all eternity,'_ he thought to me and led me back home.

…

…

…

…

…

Alright everyone, this is the last chapter. I may do an epilogue so that Karin can have her baby but that would only be about one more chapter. Thanks for reading and those of you who reviewed!

Please read and review!


	36. Epilogue

Hey every one, this will be the very last chapter of Across Worlds! I hope you enjoyed every second of reading this amazing story! I wish that I could have made it longer but no other ideas came to my mind. I own nothing of Naruto! Please read and review!

…

…

…

Chapter 35: Epilogue

"Karin, are you okay?" I cried as I saw my sister collapse on the floor. She had been very fragile the past few days with how close she was to going into labor. I ran to her side and helped her sit up.

"I think it's time… my water just broke," her eyes went wide then she screamed and wrapped her arms around her large stomach.

"Kankuro!" I cried as I pulled Karin into my arms. "Dammit, Kankuro get down here!"

"What's wrong?" he yawned as he came down the stairs shirtless.

"Get Gaara now, Karin is going into labor," I snapped as I ran out of the house to the hospital as Karin whimpered in my arms. "Hold on Karin, we're almost there."

Her only reply was to whimper in my arms. Her eyes were closed tightly as she held back pain. I wish I could have done something for her, but I didn't know anything about babies and birthing them. At the hospital, the staff was waiting and Gaara was in the waiting room. I ran past him and a doctor took her and laid her on a gurney and they wheeled her into the Delivery room.

Gaara sat on the ground and stared at the wall and I sat next to him. Karin had ordered that none of us go in with her because she knew that they'd be useless anyway and just be in the way. Kankuro paced the room and every time we heard a scream, we'd look at each other and wished more than anything to help her.

"DAMN YOU GAARA!" We heard Karin scream and I felt Gaara cringe into me and I laughed.

"I've read that women say that to the men who impregnated them. It's just the hormones being out of control," I whispered to him, trying to comfort him. '_Gaara is still a teenager and became the leader of Sunagakure at age thirteen. Now he is a husband and father while Kankuro and I are still sitting around. This may get awkward now that the child is being born. We should get Gaara and Karin their own home or have Kankuro and I move out. What to do…'_

"Lord Gaara?" a doctor came out holding something in her arms. "Congratulations on a healthy baby boy."

She smiled as Gaara stood and handed him the baby. Gaara cradled his son in his arms and smiled. I looked at the child and saw that he had a head full of black hair and I saw red on the tips. He had been cleaned and dressed and wrapped in a blanket. I saw the look on Gaara's face and smiled, knowing that before the Chunin exams I would have never been able to see him that happy.

"How is Karin?" Kankuro asked.

"The nurses are cleaning her up then they'll take her to a recovery room. Blood bags are already in her room for when she gets in there, if you want to go to room 2 and wait then you can. There is a bottle of formula for the child in there also, he needs to eat then be burped."

Gaara's face became panicked as he heard that. "I know nothing about babies."

"Karin will be able to help once she is in there. She told me as we were cleaning him that she knew none of you knew the first thing in taking care of a baby," the doctor smiled then left us.

We walked to room 2 and sat on the couch. Gaara sat in the lounge chair in the corner after picking up the bottle and rag that had been with it and cradled his child gingerly. We didn't have to wait very long for Karin to come in in a wheelchair. Her nurses were smiling and helped her stand and into the bed.

Her long hair had been pulled up into a very messy bun and her skin was pale. Her intake of air was shallow and rapid as the nurses got her situated in the bed and hung the IV bag above her head. She dismissed them and moved the bed to a sitting position and she looked at Gaara.

"Gaara," she whispered weakly and he looked at her.

She motioned him over and he came to her side and slid their child into her arms. The baby started to whimper and Karin took the bottle from him and slid the nipple into his mouth and he started to feebly suck on it. She smiled and looked at Gaara and he looked at her softly.

"What are you going to name my dear little nephew?" I asked and they looked at me.

"Kouhei," Karin smiled as she looked back down at the child. As soon as the bottle was empty, she grabbed the rag and draped it over her shoulder then lifted Kouhei up to have his face above the rag. "Don't worry about not knowing what to do to try and help Kouhei. It's easy to learn and I can teach you everything."

We all relaxed as she started to pat his back. A loud burp sounded from Kouhei and Kankuro and I started to laugh. Gaara smiled and leaned over and kissed Karin's brow.

"Is that burp natural for one so small?" Kankuro chortled.

"Yes, if they have any bubbles in their stomach and they are not burped then they'll start to get pains and cry all the time," she smiled then lowered Kouhei back to her arms and rocked him. "Gaara, would you open one of those blood bags? Temari, would you like to hold him?"

I came over and she slid him into my arms.

"Don't look so panicked, Temari, just make sure you support his head and don't shake him too hard. Both could result in injury. Just rock him gently 'til he goes to sleep," she smiled as Gaara handed her a glass of the blood.

"You would think that I'd be used to you drinking blood by now," Kankuro crinkled his nose.

"It's different actually seeing it then seeing me bite Gaara," she laughed then downed the glass and Gaara refilled it.

* * *

><p><strong>Eight years later:<strong>

"Kouhei, come back!" Kankuro called chasing after the small child as he ran through the streets.

The red tipped, black haired child looked over his shoulder with his maroon eyes and then jumped up onto one of the buildings and switched directions. He laughed and switched directions again headed towards the gates. Every day it was a game to see how far he could get before getting tackled to the ground. Today he reached the gate but skidded to a halt when he saw his mother in wolf form standing at the entrance.

Kouhei whimpered, knowing that narrowed look in her eyes as she walked to me. She sank her teeth into his shirt and tossed him on to her purple highlighted black fur and padded back through the streets. They past Kankuro who was breathing hard but was smiling and back at the house, he slid off her back and she transformed back to her humanoid form.

"Kouhei, go up to your room, but be quiet. Your sister, Rin is sleeping," Karin ordered and his shoulders slumped and he walked inside.

"Well his name definitely is opposite his demeanor," Gaara appeared and wrapped his loving wife in his arms. "At least Rin is well behaved and listens to us."

"Yes, but Rin has Kouhei to look at and learn what not to do," Karin giggled as they walked inside.

"Hello, you two," Temari came into view with lunch on the table. "Should I go get the kids?

"No, I'll get them," Karin smiled and walked up to the second level where Temari and Kankuro used to be at. She walked into the room they remodeled to be one huge room instead of two. Kouhei was on his bed, reading a book while Rin was on hers asleep. The five year old had red hair like her father and eyes like her mother. "Rin, time to wake up sweetie."

"Mommie?" the little girl opened her eyes and blinked a few times.

"Hey honey, how'd you sleep?" Karin asked as the little girl sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"I was dreaming of you and daddy and big brother," she smiled. "There was a baby in your arms though. Are we going to get another sibling?"

"We'll have to ask your father about that one," Karin smiled as she pulled the girl into her arms. She was about 40 inches tall and weighed about 40 pounds. "Kouhei, lunch is ready and your father is home."

"Am I going to be yelled at?" the boy whispered.

"No, it's good to wear out your uncle. After lunch we'll pick up both of your training. Kouhei, run down and tell your father about how you almost got through the gates."

"Alright," the boy smiled and ran out of the room.

"Mommie, why is training so important for big brother and me?"

"Because like your father and myself, you two hold greater power inside of you. We're training you now so you don't lose control of it later in life. I started training when you did but your father never had anyone to help him train so he lost control many times. We don't want that to happen to you," Karin explained as she carried her daughter down the stairs.

"So, you almost go through the gate, did you?" Gaara smiled.

"Ya, if mama hadn't been standing there at the entrance, then I would have gotten out!"

"Looks like Kanki needs to start training if he can't catch big brother," Rin giggled as I sat her at the table.

"Yes, I do believe that is needed. Kankuro you need to get yourself married," Karin snapped as she tossed an apple at the man slouched on the couch. He had finally stopped painting his face. "You too, Temari, I mean seriously, almost everyone else is married. Naruto and Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke, Neji and Tenten, Ino actually married Shikamaru, etcetera, etcetera."

"I'm seeing Matsuri right now, but she's still too shy for me to even bring up a question like that," Kankuro smiled as he stood up and sat next to Rin.

"Kanki marry Rin!" Rin laughed as she stood on the chair and jumped onto his back. Gaara laughed at that as he and Kouhei came over and sat down as well. "Daddy, are you and mommy going to get me a baby brother or sister soon?"

Karin froze at the way she said it while Gaara wrapped his arm around her and kissed her cheek.

"We have talked about it; now let's eat so you can start training."

"Yes daddy," the two children smiled and started eating.

After lunch, they all walked out to the training grounds. It was training for all of them. Kouhei had inherited the abilities to transform into a wolf while Rin inherited part of Gaara's beast, Hisashi. She had a lot more control than we had thought when we had started her training but then again, she was a half-breed.

When she transformed, she had white leathery wings and small horns on top of her head. Her skin would darken some and she held the Kanji for love on her left forearm. She held no marks in her blood of Karin's wolf while Kouhei held a little of Hisashi, but not enough to lose control over him. Every now and then though, his eyes would turn black when he got angry, but that was the extent of it. His wolf form was burgundy colored while a patch of fur around his left eye was black and his paws were black as well.

"Temi, come train with me!" Rin ran away from Gaara and towards Temari and Kankuro who had their weapons as they walked towards us. "Kanki, you can train with Kou!"

"Rin, mind your manners," Gaara called to her and she looked at him with innocent eyes.

"Daddy I want a baby brother or sister!" she snapped and turned to him and crossed her arms. "Kou has gotten boring to play with!"

"Rin, you do not talk to your father that way," Karin walked to her and knelt before her. "Listen for a second. You will have a baby sister soon enough. Count the days for five months and then you'll get to see her."

"REALLY?" Rin screeched and lunged at her mother and wrapped her arms around her as they fell to the ground.

Everyone laughed as they came over and sat around them. This was the perfect life, many had dreamed of, but not all of them got it. Wars and any disputes between people and villages in the Five Nations tore some people apart. It was a hard life to be a Shinobi but many have been able to overcome it.

Naruto was now the Hokage with four children around him while Hinata was with another child. Sasuke and Sakura had two children, Neji and Tenten had three, and Ino was pregnant with her first. For the first time in many years, the five nations were starting to get along.

…

…

…

**THE END!**

**Sorry everyone if you wanted more. I have many other stories in store for you. Look up 'Story of a Jinchi' when I put it on. It should be a few days and I'll get it updated. It is also a Gaara X OC but this character is not from any other anime or Manga. She will be my own in every way from her looks to where she's from and all of that. **

**-ookamilover19**


End file.
